Construction workers die by suicide at twice the national rate, but a three-person Canberra charity is working to reach tradies before relationship, financial or other problems become a crisis.

Construction Charitable Works provides free, confidential and practical help to construction workers and their families in the ACT. It also works with ACT Government General Service Officers such as arborists, horticultural workers, and street sweepers.

Its team — general manager Penny Burns and field officers Brian Windsor and Roni Belden — builds relationships with workers, provides peer support, and connects them to professional and community services.

“We are just trying to support whoever is not doing so well,” Ms Burns said. “It might not be a specific mental health challenge, it might just be life stuff that’s really hard; we lean in and help them out.”

The CFMEU established CCW in 2008 in response to high suicide rates among construction workers. The industry rate is 26.4 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with 13.2 per 100,000 across the wider population.

Men are more likely to take their life than women, statistics show: three-quarters of suicide deaths are men, or seven out of nine every day — and construction remains an overwhelmingly male-dominated sector. Men are less used to talking about their challenges, and don’t feel they have the words to describe what is wrong, CCW explains.

“The older tradies have been brought up in a culture where they were just told to suck it up, take a teaspoon of concrete and get onwith it,” Mr Windsor said.

“Men are not used to asking for help; we turn up in person to de-risk that process,” Ms Burns said. 

Rather than waiting for workers to seek help, the team visits construction sites from 6.30 to 7am and becomes a familiar presence.

“They get to know us,” Ms Burns said. “We’re consistent. We’re regular.”

They hold toolbox talks on mental health, alcohol and drugs, relationship conflict, and how to talk to a suicidal mate, Ms Belden said. 

They also hand out get help cards with their phone number (1800 211 470). Some workers call within minutes; others keep it in their wallet for months before calling. In either case, the CCW team calls back within 24 hours.

CCW may meet clients at a café, in a carpark near work, or somewhere else public where they feel comfortable.

Relationship breakdown and conflict are among the biggest problems CCW sees; research from the Australian Institute of Family Studies shows that nearly 31 per cent of men who went through a breakup in the previous year reported recent suicidal thoughts.

Other pressures include the cost-of-living crisis, working longer hours to feed the family, job insecurity, deadlines, workplace conflict, and drugs and alcohol.

“It’s winter in Canberra,” Ms Burns said. “It’s hard for everyone. The depression, anxiety, grey days, life struggles – they all just mount up and present together in association with the more practical related challenges, life challenges.”

Some common warning signs of people in crisis, Ms Belden says, are drinking heavily; isolating oneself; giving away belongings; and comments like ‘I’m useless, I’m worthless, nobody loves me, my life is shit. I don’t want to carry on.’

This year already, CCW has helped nine people thinking of suicide.

In one case, someone interstate called the charity because they were worried about a worker in Canberra. Mr Windsor met the worker every day for a week. The team helped him to see a GP and have his medication reviewed, and arranged meals and a pharmacy voucher while he became more stable.

In another case, Ms Belden went with a distressed client to family court, helped him understand the process, and stayed beside him while he dealt with legal, medical, and relationship problems.

“He is very much alive and kicking now, and is very clear that if it hadn’t been for us, he would not be alive,” Ms Belden said.

CCW can arrange for clients to see a psychologist or counsellor within a fortnight. They can also organise emergency accommodation, rehabilitation, meals, financial buffers, and legal assistance. 

“The main thing [is] they’re heard and they’re not alone,” Mr Windsor said. “This is part of their life, not forever – just to get them through that period of time.”

Ms Burns encouraged people to get help early with life’s challenges. “If it’s keeping you up at night, it’s worth talking to us about.”

Construction Charitable Works. Website: https://www.ccwact.com.au/ Phone: 1800 211 470.