It’s May and it’s mental health awareness month.
To mark the occasion, the Associated General Contractors of California (AGC of California), Teichert Inc., Operating Engineers Local 3 and Loyalty Point Leadership are getting together to hold a mental health awareness stand down.
Peter Tateishi, CEO of AGC of California, will be speaking at the event.
The stand down takes place Friday, May 19, from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. at the San Benito Route 156 improvement project.
The project is located at the intersection of San Juan Hollister Road and Mission Vineyard Road in San Juan Bautista, Calif.
Onsite parking is available.
“Our efforts with respect to the stand down are to help facilitate the importance of building awareness surrounding mental health,” said Brian Mello, associate vice-president of AGC of California.
Teichert, an infrastructure and site development contractor and a construction materials producer, will halt construction for one hour as speakers explain how to recognize the signs and symptoms of substance use and mental health disorders and what resources are available for help.
In addition, a veteran construction worker will tell his personal story about mental health.
The organizers are calling on other construction companies in California to hold their own stand downs, where employers and employees can discuss mental health, suicide prevention and such substance use disorders as alcoholism and opioid abuse.
Participation in the stand down is not limited to the construction industry, and no business is too small to participate.
In recent years tens of thousands of companies have participated in other stand downs, reaching millions of employees in all 50 states and in other countries as well.
To complement the 2023 stand downs, AGC of California has produced a mental health stand down toolkit and safety manual.
AGC of California hopes employers and employees will receive, read and use the stand down toolkits, which will benefit the physical and mental well-being of everyone in the California construction industry.
The toolkit, which includes a list of mental health and substance use disorder resources, is available here.
The toolkit has free resources on mental health, suicide prevention and substance use disorders to provide a menu of options for employers to hold stand downs.
Resources include links to supportive websites, fact sheets, safety and human resources manuals, posters, videos, and recorded WebEds hosted by
AGC of California.
For more information on the May 19 stand down, click here.
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