Wellness & Well-being Highlights September 22nd
Wellness & Well-being Highlights
for the
Week of September 22, 2025
This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog looks at how Bechtel’s $7m commitment to AFSP is developing products/programs to address Mental Health in the Construction Industry—to how Cocaine is having a resurgence in the USA…thanks to Mexico—to how Americans may be losing aspects of healthcare over the next decade. This week I would like to take a closer look at the importance of diversity programs in the construction industry.
Since earlier this year, DC has made their disdain for DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs clear. However, we need to move from feelings to facts. I have been in the Construction Industry since the late 1970s. It seems from the mid-1980s on, there has been a constant drum beat that this industry lacks the number of workers it needs to sustain America’s growth while providing living wage middle income jobs with benefits. And, with recent ICE raids this matter has only become more dire for our customers, contractors, Building Trades unions, and communities.
To this end, a recent report by Dr Robert Bruno, Director of Labor Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, indicated that IL based pre-apprenticeship training programs, known as the Highway Construction Careers Training Program (HCCTP) and Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program (IWPP), are indeed critical pathways for women and minorities into the skilled trades. The facts are clear:
*HCCTP enrolled 2500, graduated 1900, and placed 1000 in related positions (2017-23);
*IWPP enrolled 3300, graduated 1600, and placed 1100 in related positions (2022-24);
*Both of these programs accounted for ~5% of all new Illinois construction apprentices and a much larger share of Black (35%) and women (21%) apprentices statewide.[1]
Why this matters? According to BLS Data, in 2024, about 6.5% of US construction workers were Black, and about 11.2% of all U.S. construction workers were women.[1] Make no mistake, programs—like the 2 mentioned above plus MWI’s ARC program (formerly BUD in STL)—can and do address our industry’s workforce shortage needs while improving the lives around us. In this time of deep nationwide political discourse, is it not time to move away from hate and towards help?
As we hit the midway point of September, let’s not forget to check out the variety of Suicide Prevention Awareness programs available in your local area. If you have not heard, NAMI just launched a new MH initiative focused on the Construction Industry with Toolbox Talks, etc. It’s worth a look![2]
Please check out the rest of this week’s blog: https://moworksinitiative.org/category/worker-wellness-news/
Sources: [1] https://share.google/9gVJBKfZfMfwhWxzP
[2] https://stigmafree.nami.org/guides/industrial-trades-toolbox-talks-for-mental-health/
Arsenal: Together Against Suicide
Mexico & America’s Love for Cocaine
Chinese Exec / Fentanyl / Jailed
Canada: Employees Reporting MH?
Fall Time Change & Your Health
Educators & Google’s Cheat Button
Toxic Fumes / Airplanes / Concussions
The Cost of Reporting Gun Violence
Canada: Preventing Workplace Harassment
Impact: Clear Communication on Job Security
Construction: Boosting Diversity
Upcoming webinars, etc.:
Research Study Opportunity: College Students & MH
Suicide Postvention – Caring Communities Training (9/30)
Client-focused Care for SUD (10/16)
NAMI: Construction Toolbox Talks
NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact jgaal@moworks.org with related questions or comments.
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