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On a particularly busy workday in spring 2023, Michael Vincent was taking a short break from operating a forklift when he glanced down at his phone and noticed an alert from his bank flagging some suspicious activity. He logged into his account to find both his checking and savings account had a zero balance. On the phone with his bank, he learned he was a victim of fraud and would need to file a police report.
Later that day, back on the forklift, he began screaming obscenities at a job site carpenter who kept leaving objects in his way. After a Hoffman Construction superintendent asked Vincent to collect himself, he retreated to a small space called the Moment Room and moved the sliding sign on the door to “occupied.” He sat down and took some deep breaths.
In the years since, Vincent, 55, has used the Moment Room often as a space to calm himself while working on the Oregon state Capitol renovation project in Salem. The room, housed in a single-wide trailer, has sound-resistant walls and two red leather chairs flanking a side table with a dimly lit lamp. It is the only space on the 250-person site where someone can be alone — a rarity in the construction industry, where workers are normally forced to seek privacy in their cars…