About 1,000 construction workers in the U.S. died as a result of work injuries in 2022. That same year, there were 5,200 deaths by suicide and 17,100 from overdoses among construction workers.
The peer support group and 24/7 hotline LEAN-STL was launched in 2023 to bring those numbers down. Since then, utilization of the addiction recovery and mental health services offered by St. Louis Laborers’ Locals 42 and 110 is up by 40%.
“It feels like a sea change,” said LEAN-STL peer support specialist James Pursell. “We have a population that needs help, and we have resources, [but] there's a chasm between them. So when our members enter into our space, we can help connect them.”
“But before that,” he added, “a big part of being a peer is removing barriers.”
One of the biggest barriers to getting help for addiction, said fellow LEAN-STL peer support specialist Aaron Walsh, is the stigma associated with opening up about substance use or mental health. As former construction workers who themselves are in recovery from substance use, Walsh said the pair are uniquely positioned to connect with their clients on a deeper level.
“We're up against a lot. We have personal stigma, occupational stigma, social stigma, and we're hoping to break through some of that, through vulnerability, [to help] people feel OK,” Walsh said. “Guys feel so comfortable with us that they can call and tell on themselves. They can be honest with us. They know we're not going to judge them.”
Walsh and Pursell have worked with more than 860 laborers, more than 150 of their dependents and nearly 40 spouses in the 2½ years since LEAN-STL was formed. They’ve also distributed 3,108 doses of the overdose reversal medication Narcan.
“Success can be measured in a lot of different ways, but success is allowing people to know that it's OK not to be OK and that there's hope out there,” said Walsh. “We are a rough-and-tumble bunch that needs to know that we struggle with things, and it's time for us to take a look at some of that stuff.”
Peer support services have become common in hospitals and other substance abuse recovery spaces, but they are new to trade industries. To further the reach of peer support in the region, Walsh and Pursell launched STL Building Trades Wellness Coalition, where members of various trade unions besides construction workers can discuss their struggles. The first meeting was last week.
“The plumbers, pipe fitters, sheet metal workers, carpenters, electricians are all dealing with the same challenges we are, and have been for a while,” said Pursell. “We can support each other, build training platforms for things like mental health, first aid [and] suicide prevention. It's a great opportunity for us all to come to the table.”
To learn more about peer support services, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
