75. Suicide Awareness with AFSP's Amara Huffine

Andrea and Griff are joined by Amara Huffine of the Iowa chapter of the American Federation for Suicide Prevention to talk about suicide in the construction industry. We cover how to recognize the symptoms of someone struggling with mental health and how to reach out to help.

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:09

Welcome to Loaded, the Hahn Ready Mix Podcast with Andrea Meyer, Griffin Hahn, and producer Lex. How's it going?

SPEAKER_01 0:16

Good, good. Welcome Amara Hafine to the uh podcast. How are you?

SPEAKER_04 0:21

Good. I'm glad to be here.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

All right.

SPEAKER_04 0:23

Special outside guest today. Yes. Yes. Unusual for us, but it's great.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Yeah, we're excited to have you. So thanks for drove all the way from Des Moines, right?

SPEAKER_04 0:31

Osceola, actually.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Oceola. Yeah. See? That's how big of a deal the podcast is. Great. Great. Well, we have announcements and then we'll jump in with Amher.

SPEAKER_04 0:42

I just wanted to mention again, we've feels it feels like we've been off and on with the dump sites lately. And seems like there might be some confusion happening there. So if you are turned away at a dump site, let dispatch know right away so we can make some calls. It seems like I don't know. We but we can't be driving to Sylvis to dump leftover concreet.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

Yeah. I think we got things figured out at the um the West Davenport one by the main office. So hopefully that one's open.

SPEAKER_04 1:10

That makes a big difference.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Um the rest of the year. So yeah. But definitely if if you're anything, let us know. And we'll we'll keep working on getting Eldridge and Button back open too. So I had two announcements. One, it was kind of crazy busy today, busier than we've been in a very long time, uh, which was wonderful. And I just appreciate everybody that really put the extra hustle in today. And I was in dispatch for a while, and there was a lot of um uh apologies and expl explanations for customers, and so I I know that's a tough job, and so I appreciate everybody um sticking through that and doing the very best we can on those things. On another note, uh I got some some people talking to me about people that have they don't know who, and I I'm not trying to point anybody out, but somebody's smoking inside offices and in buildings, and that's uh that's no go. So please don't be courteous of your coworkers and if you gotta smoke, do it outside. Or, you know, talk to us if we can help you quit smoking. Yes. So happy to help. Andrea is uh an expert at uh bully of whatever you're trying to change in your life.

SPEAKER_04 2:20

I'm happy to help bully you towards the right direction.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Yeah. Yeah, great. Anything else you got?

SPEAKER_04 2:27

No, I'm I'm ready. I'm excited for the topic.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

All right. Amra, why don't you uh introduce yourself and you're with the AFSP? Is that correct? Did I say that's that right? Yes, yep. Yeah. So why don't you just uh give us a little bit of your background and what you do?

SPEAKER_03 2:41

Sure. Yeah. So I am the area director for American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Iowa. Say that two times fast. That's why we use AFSP. Um AFSP is a national organization. Each state has at least one chapter plus Puerto Rico. So I serve the entire state. I'm the only staff member. And um I've been doing this for almost two years. February will be two years. I have a background in fundraising. I went to school to ask people for money for a living. So um went to private school for that. I love that. But I, you know, I came into this because I was recruited into it. Um, I was previously at a chamber of commerce as the CEO before this. And I say that because yes, I do this for a living, but I have a connection to the cause. And that is when I was at the chamber in a small town in 2022, we were hit with an EF4 tornado. And so we lost six people in our community to that event. And as the leader of the chamber and of the community, we jumped in and we served as the volunteer coordination effort. So anyone that wanted to come in and help us get those kid uh people back up and running and you know, clean up their houses and stuff came through the chamber. We also heard a lot of survivor stories. And um, half of the family, so three of them were from a family that passed. She was a member of the chamber and she was in the chamber the night before she died. Um, and I had ducked her because I was, you know, it was my husband's birthday that weekend. And I was like, you know, I don't have time to talk to her. And I really struggled with survivor's guilt after that. And so as we went through this process, you know, I noticed my team kind of cracking at the seams, really arguing with each other. So I brought in a therapist and we did a little debrief um after the crisis. And I shared in that moment, you know, I was struggling with my mental health. I was struggling with survivor's guilt. And uh two months later, my board of 12 people who lived in that community, who had businesses in that community, sat me down and wrote me up for talking about mental health. I was told that good leaders don't discuss mental health. Wow. And I was stayed there for another three years before I was recruited out to AFSP. And it, it, you know, thank God I had a community around me. I'd gone through my own mental health struggle before. So I recognized the own signs for me. Um, and I had people around me who said, Hey, you're not okay. Let's get you help. So that's why I was able to go through the process. So I'm I'm on the other side of it and I'm thrilled to be here and do this work because I have been affected by it. And I've been in a community where we don't talk about it, you know. And unfortunately, that's still very prevalent in the state of Iowa.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

So Yeah, that's a powerful story. Yeah. Well, like in general, like mental health is a big term, right? Like I mean, how would you define that or how how do you uh what do you focus on within that, right?

SPEAKER_03 5:19

Yeah. I mean, I think everyone expects like the the Scientology or this the science of it, um, of that, you know, it's it's your brain health, right? But what it is and what it isn't is most important. So what it isn't, it's not something to be ashamed of. You know, we all struggle. It's not a linear thing, it's not an all or nothing. We have good mental health or bad mental health. It's a sliding scale of was today a good day or was, you know, today a bad day. And mental health is something that everyone struggles with. Everyone has it, and it's not something to be ashamed of if you're having a bad day. But most importantly, it it like physical health, it has to be maintained. Um, and it's not unpluggable either, right? Like if we have a bad day and we want to show off social media, we can put our phone away. We live with our brains 24-7. You can't take them out, you can't decide I'm not gonna have a, you know, remove your brain and put it on the table type situation. So it is something that we have to work towards and know that it evolves and it changes as we go through seasons of life.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

Yeah, absolutely. So in regards to suicide, how do we talk about a heavy topic like that? I mean, and you know, particularly, I think we get into it later, but you know, construction is heavily impacted by that, right? So I mean, how do you even start the conversation?

SPEAKER_03 6:34

Well, I know in the like as we go further in the conversation, I'll directly talk about how you address someone or like things to be aware of. But what I want to mention first is the terminology we use around um suicide has changed. You know, when I was a kid, the common phrase was committed suicide. Unfortunately, research has shown that that just whether we mean to or not provides a negative connotation because we also hear it prevalently in someone's, you know, if they're being convicted of a felony or they've committed a crime, they've committed a sin. So it just, you know, continues on that stigma that we're trying to get rid of. So instead, uh as we go through this conversation and as you continue to think about suicide, we suggest uh you use they died by suicide, or um if someone is bereaved by suicide, meaning they're they've lost someone, you can hear sometimes them say suicide bereaved, bereaved by suicide, lost someone to suicide. Additionally, on the other side, if you've had someone that has had an attempt, we try not to imply judgment of failed or successful attempt. So you may hear someone who's uh attempted say I'm a suicide attempt survivor or attempt of suicide survivor.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

Sure. So let's dive in, you know. Obviously, we're a construction firm, right? And so um we've been to some uh seminars and conventions where this topic has come up and and the statistics I've seen before are alarming, and I'm sure uh you you know them better than me. How is the construction industry, I guess, compared to the rest of the general population in this regarding suicide?

SPEAKER_03 8:08

Absolutely. Unfortunately, we've seen that suicide is adversely affected by suicide. It's the second leading cause of death in your industry. It's right behind mining and oil extraction. And uh again, as we continue this conversation, I'll talk about the whys behind that. You know, we lose 12 construction workers every day to suicide. Wow. The other statistic that's pretty shocking like that is the veteran suicide rate, which is 22 a day. Um, so I mean, you know, we definitely want to intervene and write that a little bit and get rid of the stigma that surrounds suicide in this industry. It's it's definitely, like I said, a leading cause of death. You know, in the in comparison, the state of Iowa suicide is the 11th leading cause of death. In the nation, it's the ninth. So to have construction so high up there, we definitely as an organization have wondered why that is. And that's why we've taken the steps to do our Talk Save Lives, Heart Hack Courage, which we're gonna kind of talk about, some of that information that's in that program, and why we did our construction hike for hope, which you guys were a sponsor of in Claude Cities.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

Yeah. So, all right, let's dive into that. So, what what are the reasons why your theories are why construction is so more heavily impacted?

SPEAKER_03 9:19

Absolutely. So, suicide risk factors are are what we're gonna talk about. I first I want to preface suicide's complex. It's not an easy thing to navigate, to talk about. Um, and there's not just one thing that leads to a suicide. So uh please keep that in mind as we continue this conversation for anyone listening, but also know that just because you have what we called suicide risk factors, if you have some of them, know that that doesn't mean you're gonna lead to suicide either, right? We have on one hand, we have the suicide risk factors which lead to suicide or can compound suicide, and then we have our protective factors which help bolster against suicide ideation. So, suicide risk factors, specifically in the construction industry, your industry sees a high rate of stoicism, of that push through the pain, just get through it, rub some dirt in it mentality still. Um, you know, you guys have made a lot of great strides in trying to alleviate that stoicism mentality, but it's still there, it's still very prevalent. Additionally, you have a high rate of burnout because you guys are going from project to project, quick turnarounds. Sometimes we face isolation in the construction industry. You know, they're traveling, they're staying in hotel rooms, they're away from friends and family. And unfortunately, you guys have a high rate of injury. So sometimes we see a higher rate of self-medication with drugs or alcohol trying to again push through that pain and just get through. All of those kind of combine to like the perfect storm a little bit, especially if they have some other suicide risk factors that the general population has, which is like a history of abuse or trauma, or they've lost someone to suicide um in their family or struggle with mental health illness, um, which could be like, you know, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, all of that stuff that could compound with the adverse other uh suicide risk factors that the construction industry faces.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Yeah. That's that's a lot of stuff, right? So if if I'm, you know, a driver or or anybody here, like what how do I take those factors and think about and and and so many of those things are just a reality of work, right? You're not gonna have somebody else in the truck with you. You are gonna be alone when you're driving a truck unless you're training or something, right? Um the hours are long and the work is physically challenging. I mean, so how do you mitigate some of those factors when when they're kind of just part of the industry, you know, and and so what what can we do to help with that?

SPEAKER_03 11:41

Absolutely. So the first thing is self-care. You know, taking care of ourselves is it's a buzzword, but it's very much important. And then we talk about those protect protective factors I mentioned earlier. So, you know, having a community around you that can recognize the signs like I did when I struggle with my mental health, you know, to even talk to and say, like, today was a really bad day, or it was a really heavy loaded day of of physical strength. And um, you know, be able to talk to you about the challenges just openly, having a strong, a sort of trying to find the right word to say, having a strong sense of identity helps, you know, if you firmly believe in who you're doing, who you are, what you're doing, um, helps as a protective factor. And then finding joy, what fills up your cup? You know, is it going to church? Is it playing basketball? You know, leaning into those things and having some type of, I say balance, but balance is like a tightrope, right? Like you go one side and then you go the other side to maintain your balance. So you may be heavy in in work hours one week. Is there something the next week that you could do that to bring your joy back, give you a peace of mind, take a breath, making sure you have some harmony in your life is what will bolster those protective factors.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

I'm thinking, I'm I'm kind of going off script here a little bit, but I'm thinking about like, you know, we we really try to talk about how to find purpose and meaning in the work you do, right? So it doesn't feel like work. Yes. Right. And I I would think that that would have a positive effect on that. Like it the long hours are easier to navigate if you feel like you're making a difference and you're making an impact, right?

SPEAKER_03 13:14

Yes, absolutely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

Yeah. Okay. So what are the signs, I guess, for if you're observing yourself or observing someone else and you go, gosh, something isn't right. You know, what what should is there tells or something that that is says somebody might be struggling?

SPEAKER_03 13:31

Absolutely. So we we put them in three different buckets. We have talk, mood, and behavior. And I think the important thing to know is the baseline, knowing if someone has been this way for a little bit, a while. And as we dive in, I'll explain why the baseline is so important. But, you know, talking about the talk of it all. So if you hear someone saying, you know, worth life just isn't worth living, or I'm just not happy here, you know, expressing that they want to take their own life, maybe that they're experiencing a lot of pain, unbearable pain, that they're just not finding joy anymore, or that they're just struggling. If we hear any of that, it's time to think about how we're gonna have this conversation with this person and we'll talk next steps. Um, but if you add that to the mood, if you notice they're apathetic, depressed, anxious, if they feel a sense of humiliation for some reason, you know, we really need to sit down and have a conversation with our friend and make sure that everything's okay. Additionally, if we add behavior to that, uh if we notice they're taking more risks than usual, maybe they're not wearing their safety gear at work, you know, just being really reckless and, you know, and driving even, um, if we notice that they're giving away possessions, we want to have a conversation. Now, in that too, if we notice that this person's been depressed for a while, has expressed a lot of these different signs from each bucket, and then all of a sudden they're happy. We want to sit down and have a conversation. If there's no life change that has suddenly expressed or made this person happy, meaning they don't have a new job, they didn't get a new girlfriend or whatever, it probably means they've made a decision that they're at peace with. And so we need to have a conversation sooner than later if all of a sudden they're happy.

SPEAKER_01 15:06

I wouldn't have thought about that. Yeah, that's wow. Yeah. Yep. Okay, so somebody sees signs with with somebody, right? That they're you know, giving away their possessions or whatever, you know, whatever these how do you intervene? Like that's seems like such a insurmountable thing to say, hey, we need to talk about your mental health or you know, uh and and if you're a coworker of somebody here, let's say, how do you start that conversation?

SPEAKER_03 15:35

Yeah, I think as we go into this conversation, first, there's a couple of key points of know that it's awkward. Um, we have a really good team campaign at AFSP called Seize the Awkward, where you know, these athletes come in and talk about seizing the awkward and having this awkward conversation. It does not matter what age you are, this is an awkward conversation, right? Additionally, you know, we have this phrase too called Iowa nice. And Iowa nice means we care, we want to support someone, but we don't want to be intrusive. Not conversation. A little surface. Exactly. We're gonna be intrusive here, right? We're we're gonna step in and get in the uncomfortableness of this. So as you go into this conversation, you decide I need to have this conversation, a couple of things, trust your gut. If you feel like this conversation needs to happen, trust it. Just have the conversation. Secondly, don't believe that anyone else is going to have this conversation with this person. You may be the only one that's listened to this podcast who's gone to one of our talks, or, you know, is just aware of the signs and symptoms that maybe someone else, again, is stuck with the Iowa Nice effect. Go in, plan to have an empathetic conversation and plan to listen. That's the most important thing. Don't go in expecting to have an argument or any type of conversation about whether or not life is worth living. Oftentimes, whether we mean to well-intend it or not, it's going to put them on the defense. And then we also don't want to argue with them about how they're feeling. You know, we just want to sit there and be empathetic. So as we start this conversation, a couple of examples that you could use as you're approaching your friend is I've noticed you've been a lot more angry than usual. I've noticed some other like behaviors of, you know, just being a little reckless at work, not being so safe. Are you doing okay? Can we talk about how you're feeling? Or additionally, you can send them a text and just say, like, I've noticed you're just not engaged anymore. Is there something that's bothering? Can we talk about it? Again, to make sure that you're having this conversation in private. I always say coffee shops, but those aren't very private, right? We want this person to feel secure and safe. Um, and additionally, too, if you're in a situation where you're supervising someone you're struggling that might be struggling, I suggest going to a neutral position, especially if they've had a history of performance issues. Being behind your desk as a boss is not, it's kind of a power move and it may not create a safe environment. So take them to a conference room or something where um, unless there is a performance issue that you're addressing, uh, where it gets away from that power.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

Yeah, separate from the work from the personal concern. Exactly. Yeah. That's a great point. I was gonna ask you like if it's if it's more powerful from a peer or a manager, or if it's just most important that the conversation happens regardless of where it comes from. But then how do you approach that like if you're a manager, right? So um that's a good point. Yeah, I you know, take somebody off site for lunch or something, or or you know, just somewhere.

SPEAKER_03 18:21

Yep, absolutely. Yeah, to diffuse it a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 18:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:24

We really try to practice curiosity in performance conversations and others, like to not have our own judgment going into any conversation, to go and just curiously finding out what's going on with someone. And it seems like that's kind of your advice on this is to just check in.

unknown 18:39

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 18:40

If you have any doubts, if you have any concerns with someone, just check in and be curious if there's anything you can do to to help or to listen or whatever they need.

SPEAKER_03 18:47

Yep, absolutely. I love that. Yeah, I think curiosity is really the the great term there. And so I love that you guys are already practicing that. And then as you're having this conversation, the other thing you want to do is be direct, right? If you're worried about suicide, research shows that asking about suicide is not going to lead someone who isn't thinking about it to then take their own life. It just doesn't happen that way. Instead, if someone is struggling and they are thinking about suicide and you asking directly means it just shows that you're willing to talk about it. You know, it's not off the table. Um, so even if they decide that that conversation is not worth saying something to you, they may feel later to come back and feel safe that they can have that conversation because you've asked that question. So again, we're gonna be intrusive and we're gonna ask directly, are you thinking about suicide? Right. So we've asked, are you doing okay? And they've said, nope, I'm struggling. I I feel depressed, you know, my wife left me, whatever. And you're gonna say, are you thinking about suicide? And if they come back and say, Yeah, I have, then the next step is to find more information. We want to talk about getting them safe. So we want to want to know if they have a plan. Have you thought about how you would do that? Do you have access to that? Unfortunately, we know that, you know, firearms are the number one method use for suicide. It is also the most lethal because of how the impact of it is. You know, ask if they have access to a firearm, if they have ammunition, if they have a lockbox. Um, some other things to ask about too is if they have prescription medication that they thought about using or toxic substances. We want to know everything that they've thought about so that we can keep them safe. So after we've talked about are you thinking about suicide, do you have access to the meat, or have you thought about how and do you have access, then we're gonna engage in a safety plan. And that's the keeping them safe part of the conversation. So I will say again, like it's jarring to hear that yes, someone's thinking about suicide. So again, make sure you're being empathetic, that you're in a space to continue listening. If you feel like you can push through the conversation, learn more, and then know that you're gonna have to do some self-care for yourself. But if you're struggling with this conversation, know that 988 is available for anyone who calls. So if you're having this conversation, you're like, I don't know that I can handle this. You as a person can call 998-988 if you're not struggling yourself. They can help you help guide you through the conversation. Um, you can call them afterwards, you can call them before as well if you're the one having the conversation.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

So that's 998. 988. 988. Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 21:17

Yep. And they do have different options for veterans and Spanish. Um, and they are I've heard that the federal government is now funding again the option three, which is for the LGBTQ. So if you have someone that's struggling with that identity, pretty soon again, hopefully in the fall, we'll see that option come in where you have someone from that community speaking to you directly who's gone through that challenge. So so again, as we're talking about being safe, we want to ask them what they feel they need so that they're part of the plan, right? Um, if they've noticed or said that they have a firearm, well, can we lock that up? Can we change the password? Can I take the the key with me so that we can keep that safe from you? Knowing that we're in Illinois and Iowa over here. Here, I do suggest if if firearms come up, definitely checking in on ownership and who can take firearms. In the state of Iowa, you do not have to have a permit to have a gun if you're over 18. I don't know what the law is in Illinois. So I just want to preface that that yes, in Iowa, you can't take someone's firearms and hold on to them without getting the police involved. I think you have to have the police involved for Illinois. And same with prescription meds, you do have to have that person drop them off to the pharmacy with you. You cannot take someone's prescribed medication out of their house. Um, so just know that there are some certain certain things you have to work around when it comes to lethal means. You know, we've talked about how we're gonna keep them safe and then we're gonna close this conversation. How do we end this conversation? We wanna again ask about next steps. You know, are they willing to go to a mental health therapist and continue the conversation about how to keep them safe? That's most important. If they're not willing, I strongly suggest again getting 988 on the phone and having them talk through them and not closing that conversation until they have a next step in their plan. Um, and then as we've closed this conversation, yes, they're gonna go get help or whatever. Let's check in on them a couple of days. This is not a one and done conversation, right? We want to bring them in and just say, hey, I've been thinking about our conversation. How are you doing? Are you feeling safer? You know, have you made that appointment with your therapist? Can we make that together if they haven't? And and continue to check in on your friend.

SPEAKER_04 23:28

Will that um 988 resource be able to refer you with where to go or should you? I'm just not sure we would know where to take someone if they did say they were willing to get help. I'm not sure that we know.

SPEAKER_03 23:39

Great question. Absolutely. 988 will get you connected. AFSP, if they go to our website, we have links on where to find a mental health provider. And I will say, if you feel like someone is just not safe, call 911. You know, we do know AFSP does know that unfortunately some populations are affected. If they're in a health crisis, they're affected by 911 being called. Unfortunately, we do know that. So, you know, if you feel like they're not safe, but you can drive them to the ER, we do suggest that. Most importantly, if you've come in into an active crisis where they've actively tried to attempt suicide or take their life, get them medical help right away and ask as many questions as you can. You know, it's gonna come off as you're pestering, but ask what they've taken, when they took it, what they use, any of that information, call 911, rely that to um to dispatch, and know that when the police officer or an ambulance or a fire show up, you're gonna have to repeat that information. But we want to get as much information as we can if it's an active suicide attempt.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

Sure. Uh can I rewind a little bit back to the signs and what if someone like notices in their own behavior or or they're feeling bad? Like so we've talked about some of the resources like the 988, and we should probably mention we have um the the hotline that tour uh benefits as well. What's the difference?

SPEAKER_04 24:59

Yeah, we'll yeah, we have an EAP, we'll include that information in the notes.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

Perfect. Fantastic. But like how do you okay? So let's say you're the person that's you're you're struggling. How do you start if you want to talk about it with a coworker or someone that you trust? How do you start that conversation yourself? Because that seems just as difficult, if not maybe more so.

SPEAKER_03 25:17

Absolutely. I think it's important, and it's funny because I I tell all my teenagers this when we do our program in Sreel, you know, it's important to know who your five trusted adults are. And I think that's very much still relevant in our age as adults. Who can you trust to have this conversation with? And as you go in, you just say, I have, you know, something heavy to talk about and I need you to listen and I need help. You know, it could be just as blunt as that. Again, season the awkward, just getting it out there, not don't be subtle about it. That's the most important. Don't expect someone to pick up the signs who may not be aware of what they are. Come out and say that you're struggling. You know, when I went through the tornado, it was the second time I had had a mental health crisis and I was able to talk to my husband and say, I'm seeing some signs that I had gone through before in my career. I need help. And because of that, you know, I was already in therapy, but I was able to go to my primary care physician and get on some medication and knew that was the next step. If you're struggling, have this conversation. If you don't feel like you're being listened to or you don't have a trusted adult, again, 988 is the best number. Or you can go to AFSP.org and look up who you could reach out to if we're mental health providers.

SPEAKER_01 26:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:28

Um, we have all that resources on our on our website.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

And I'd say, you know, either me or Andrea or or anybody else with leadership here, we're not experts in how to deal with this, but but we're happy to connect, you know, with those resources and and help however we can.

SPEAKER_03 26:43

I will say too, there's a lot of great resources in Quad City. So it's amazing to see what's happening in your your region. And I unfortunately, on the flip side, I know there's been an increase in suicide debts in this region recently this year, but you've got the great collective who does a lot of great stuff. Um, you have Foster's Voice, who was founded and he works for XPAC in the construction procurement industry. But they were founded after their son Foster passed away from suicide. So they have a lot of great resources. He's on my board, in fact. And then NAMI is really relevant here. And then you have EFSP, not just with Iowa, but you have Illinois as well. So um, yes, we have the same resources, but we have different people. If you don't feel like I have the right people to talk to, Illinois is great to work with.

SPEAKER_01 27:26

Yeah, that's great. Wonderful. I this has been an I think a really important conversation. So what and is there anything else we haven't touched on or anything you want uh all of the employees here to know to kind of close this up?

SPEAKER_03 27:39

Sure. I I think you know a couple of things is you know, September is suicide prevention month. So, you know, this is a very timely conversation. And I believe like September 14th is the week of uh construction suicide prevention month or week. So, you know, just keep that in mind. And hopefully you can refer back to this conversation. As I exit, I always like to say, you know, AFSP Iowa is always looking for opportunities to grow. As I mentioned, I'm the only staff person in the state of Iowa. So if this resonated with you, we do have a specific construction program called Talk Saves Lives Hard Hack Courage, which is where a lot of this information is coming from. If you want to present it, I would love to get you trained. Um you can go to AFSP.org forward slash Iowa and um just submit a volunteer application. We're always looking for committee members, especially for our hike, which will be in June of 2027. It'll be our second annual hike, specifically again for the construction industry and knowing that we have work to do here. And we're always looking for board members too. So if you're interested, again, if if you're on the Illinois side, they're looking for people over there too.

SPEAKER_01 28:43

Great, wonderful. Anything else you got, Andrew?

SPEAKER_04 28:45

You've been great. I'm sorry that we haven't had you here before. I know like just with the stats that you gave out, like we do so much other safety training and things that are, you know, kind of annoying to us, but have to be done, and and we know why. And like thinking about these statistics the same way and the fact that we don't do much for it is is really kind of sad. So I'm glad that you're there and you you've been a resource for for everyone.

SPEAKER_03 29:11

And uh you might get booked for more podcasts after that. I'm happy to. I love talking about this. I love doing the work. As you mentioned earlier, it's long hours as well, but it's very fulfilling. So I'm always happy to come out and you know, be in Quad Cities or you know, go to any any company that wants me, I'll gladly come and do our programs.

SPEAKER_01 29:28

Excellent.

SPEAKER_03 29:28

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_04 29:29

We really appreciate you being here. Thank you for having me. Yeah, thanks for listening, everyone. Like we said, we'll put some resources in the notes here, and we'll talk to you again next week.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

Thanks so much.