Miron Construction champions suicide prevention and mental health with employee trainings, Sept. 3, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — In honor of National Suicide Prevention Month, a local construction company is training its employees on how to help save a life from suicide.
Since the start of 2022, Miron Construction’s wellness coordinator, Meredith Baciak, has trained hundreds of employees to become certified QPR Gatekeepers.
QPR — which stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — is a nationwide program that helps individuals recognize the signs of suicidal ideation in others and offer assistance, if needed.
Officials say this training is especially important in the construction industry, which sees a higher-than-average number of employee suicides. According to Miron:
- The suicide rate in construction occupations is 5 times greater than of all other construction fatalities combined.
- For every 100,000 male construction workers, 56 died by suicide in 2022.
- For every construction employee that dies by suicide, there are 25 more attempts.
That’s why every year during September, the construction industry dedicates one week to raising awareness about the challenges workers face, how those issues can lead to suicide and what resources are available to prevent these deaths.
Baciak spoke to workers Tuesday at Miron’s Maplewood Middle School project site in Menasha for a mandatory “Stand-Down” meeting. She encouraged employees to get help if they’re struggling and do their part in eliminating the stigma around mental health, especially for men.
“There’s that toxic masculinity that’s still out there, that ‘I don’t want to talk about my feelings’ and we’re really trying to break down that wall and the stigma around that. Knowing that it is okay to talk about it, it’s okay to not be okay and it’s okay to seek resources, because you’re going to feel better and do so much more,” Baciak said.
Miron Construction recently debuted its Miron Mental Health Hub to serve as a one-stop-shop for employees to seek information and resources on suicide prevention and mental health.
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