PROVIDENCE – The opioid epidemic has hit construction workers and people who work in similar occupations hardest of all.
Suicide is also a leading killer of those men and women who build houses, offices, bridges and roads.
Now, the Providence-based nonprofit agency Building Futures is trying to save lives with an aggressive campaign to inform construction workers about the help that’s available and train their peers to provide support for struggling co-workers on job sites.
“In Rhode Island and around the country, we’re seeing this twin epidemic of opioid substance abuse and suicide,” says Rachel Miller, chief external relations officer for Building Futures.
Michael Currier, recovery director for Building Futures, last month outlined his agency’s “We’ve Got Your Back” initiative for the Governor’s Overdose Task Force . Currier made the presentation as the task force discussed the devastating impact fatal overdoses are having on Rhode Islanders working in the construction, maintenance, fishing, farming and forestry industries.