NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Construction industry leaders announced Friday morning that they are working together to battle mental health and addiction issues within the industry.

High rates of overdoses and suicides have long been hidden dangers in the building trades.

It takes a team of construction workers to build the latest addition to Yale New Haven Health, but the group gathered on the job site Friday morning to talk about their own mental health.

When construction sites make the news, it’s usually for worksite accidents. McCollough said that is also where management has been focused.

“But if you look deeper at the numbers, we have a bigger problem with mental health issues, addiction, and suicide in our industry,” he said.

That is why dozens of people from many different companies came together to sign a memorandum of understanding, a collaboration years in the making.

“It reflects an industry coming together to recognize that mental health, suicide prevention, substance abuse awareness, and psychological safety are not separate from workforce strategy or worksite safety,” explained Beth DuPont of the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board, a group spearheading the effort.

One of the things that is going to change is that posters will go up at worksites telling people treatment is available, which will even include a QR code they can scan for more information about that treatment.

“But while the work is visible, we know that the stress, anxiety, and emotional toll that can come with it is not,” Andrea Lobo of the Cornell Scott Hill Health Center said.

“They occur outside the workplace,” Eric Cushman, vice president of Gilbane Building Company, said. “They occur when someone, unfortunately, gets hurt and suffers from opioid addiction afterwards, and suffers from mental health issues. We need to bring that forward.”

It takes a team working together to build a hospital. Now, that team is working together to help each other.

“It’s inspiring and uplifting,” McCullough said. “It gives me hope that we’re going to turn this thing around and help people get better.”