It’s time to talk about mental health

By Emma Peterson. 

The first step to suicide prevention in the trades? Talking about it. Join industry leaders for a conversation about suicide prevention. 

Editor’s note: This article discusses mental health and mental health struggles (including suicide) that might be hard for some to read. The goal is to educate and share strategies for treating these issues. We encourage you to prioritize your own mental health and safety and read at your own discretion. 

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and we wanted to take a moment to talk about the importance of mental health, wellness and support. We hosted McKay Daniels, CEO of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA); Jacob Schick, CEO of One Tribe Foundation; and Mandy McIntyre, founder of Level Up Consultants, for a Coffee Conversation sponsored by SRS Distribution all about suicide prevention in the industry.  

The first step towards suicide prevention and a healthier industry is simply talking more about mental health. McKay explained, “This is not a new issue. It’s one that as an industry we have just not talked about.” For him, the wakeup call came about two years ago when two NRCA members lost people on their teams to suicide and then shortly after they lost a very active NRCA member to suicide as well. McKay elaborated, “It's one thing to see statistics and hear numbers that are devastating, but it's another to see it firsthand. And to have meetings in May, where you're sitting next to somebody, and then in September, that person is gone. It crystallized that we collectively, as an industry, need to be doing more and the first step is talking about mental health.”  

Jacob added some context based on his work with his mental health and emotional wellness organization, sharing, “Awareness is so important. Knowledge is power is really a half-truth, it’s power if it is shared. You're not going to change anything without awareness or education first. If people don't know about it, it's impossible to change it.” This is especially important in spaces where the cultural norm has been to push down your issues and keep going on silently. Jacob explained, “I was raised the same way I think a lot of people in the roofing industry were raised, that when a really bad thing happens, you don’t talk about it and just move forward and be okay. And that culture creates a fear of judgment and ridicule where people are not comfortable speaking up or asking for help. And we need people to realize that asking for help is actually the strong thing to do, as opposed to the cowardly thing to do.” 

And the great news is we are already seeing shifts in the industry based on raised awareness. Mandy shared, “People are much more aware than they were even three years ago, you’re seeing mental health toolbox talks be utilized more, we have Construction Suicide Prevention week, you're seeing it addressed in safety summits, it's addressed at the IRE and more. It's starting to take shape and we really just need to continue to make sure that people continue the conversations and empowered to help themselves and help others when a mental health challenge or crisis starts to arise.” 

Listen to the full conversation or Watch the episode to learn more about suicide prevention and mental wellness in the roofing industry.