About Us / Our Why
Why WorkerStrong Exists
The construction and skilled trades industry carries one of the highest suicide rates among major professions. Long hours, physical demands, seasonal instability, and a culture that often prioritizes toughness over vulnerability create barriers to seeking help.
Mental health challenges in the trades are real - and they are not being adequately addressed.
WorkerStrong Wellness was created to change that.
Why It's Personal
WorkerStrong Wellness was created in honor of my brother, Chaz.
He climbed cell towers - physically demanding, high-risk work that required strength, precision, and resilience. Like many in the trades, he worked in remote locations, far from consistent support systems. The job came with physical strain, injuries, and the instability that often accompanies contract-based work.
He faced many of the same pressures tradesmen and women encounter every day:
• Physically demanding environments
• Job insecurity and unpredictable schedules
• Time away from family and community
• A culture that values toughness but rarely creates space for vulnerability
Like many workers in the trades, he found ways to cope that helped him get through the day - but didn’t always help him feel connected, supported, or fully understood.
He died by suicide in 2021.
This work is not abstract to me. It is deeply personal.
I have grown up surrounded by the trades - my father, uncle, cousins, friends, and now my son entering the field as a welder. I have seen firsthand the strength, pride, and loyalty that define this industry - and also the silent burdens that too often go unaddressed.
WorkerStrong exists because the people who build our communities deserve support systems that understand their world.
Why This Is Professional
As a Licensed Professional Counselor and private practice owner, I have worked with individuals from construction and skilled trades backgrounds.
What I have consistently observed is this:
Traditional mental health models often fail to account for the culture of the trades.
Therapists are not trained to understand jobsite dynamics, shift schedules, financial volatility, injury risks, or the identity many workers hold around toughness and self-reliance.
When mental health professionals lack cultural competency in this space, workers disengage.
And when workers disengage, risk increases.
That gap must be addressed.
What WorkerStrong Is Building
WorkerStrong Wellness is being developed to bridge the gap between the mental health field and the skilled trades industry.
Our focus includes:
• Increasing culturally competent care
• Equipping therapists with industry-specific awareness
• Supporting peer-led initiatives within construction
• Partnering with organizations committed to workforce wellbeing
We are currently in the development phase - actively listening to industry leaders, safety professionals, and workers themselves to build solutions that fit this field.
The skilled trades deserve support that understands their world.
Let's work together to make this vision a reality.
