In this important episode, Hosts Jeremy and Valerie Owens welcome special guest Sally Spencer-Thomas to discuss the sensitive topic of mental health, suicide trends, and prevention in the construction industry. We had the honor of speaking with Spencer-Thomas, who is a clinical psychologist, international mental-health advocate and speaker, researcher, and suicide loss survivor. Sally lost her only sibling and best friend, Carson J. Spencer, on December 7th, 2004 and her life’s mission from that point forward has been dedicated to educating, preventing, innovating, writing, and professionally speaking about mental health, reminding us of the positive impact each one of us can have on our society, and thus on one another.
We were fortunate enough to gain valuable insights from Spencer-Thomas on the risk factors and alarming trends for industry professionals, but more importantly, details on prevention strategies and awareness opportunities that our industry is beginning to implement.
We are grateful to Sally Spencer-Thomas for her time and dedication to this noble, life-saving cause, and we ask each of you to let this quote from the Higher Education Center on Spencer-Thomas’ website be your marching order moving forward: “Be vocal. Be visible. Be visionary. There is no shame in stepping forward, but there is great risk in holding back and hoping for the best.” Again, we thank you Sally Spencer-Thomas for being the change maker that this industry desperately needs!
Resources:
Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas – https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/
Workplace Suicide Prevention – https://workplacesuicideprevention.com/
Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention – https://preventconstructionsuicide.com/
Learn about Jeremy and Valerie’s journey, why they have decided to launch this industry asset to better the community at large through mentorship, peer education, and thought leadership.
To read their Open Letter to the Construction Industry click here
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Responses
This was so informative. We were so fortunate to have Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas on the podcast!