By Cal Beyer, CWP
The President of the Iron Workers District Council of New England, Shawn Nehiley, introduced me to several key leaders from New England on the topics of addiction treatment and recovery, opioid risk reduction, and overdose prevention. Through him, I met three leaders who embraced me as a fellow ally, collaborator, and friend:
- Michael Doucette, Financial Secretary-Treasurer of Ironworkers Local #7 in Boston
- Tom Gunning, Executive Director of the Building Trades Employers Association (BTEA) Northeast
- Dave Argus, Operations Director of the Contract Division of Karas & Karas Glass, a glazing contractor in South Boston
Since 2020, I’ve enjoyed partnering on presentations, webinars, and articles with one or more of these leaders for various organizations, including the Ironworkers Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust (IMPACT), Construction Users Round Table (CURT), Associated General Contractors of America (ACG), Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA), and the Building Enclosure Conference of the National Glass Association (NGA).
Definition & Framework for Recovery
The Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) developed a “working definition” and a framework for recovery. SAMHSA defines recovery “as a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential”. SAMHSA’s framework for recovery “signals a dramatic shift in the expectation for positive outcomes for individuals who experience mental and substance use conditions or the co-occurring of the two”.
Recovery Week was officially launched in April 2019 by the stakeholders of the BTEA to shine light on the challenges of substance use disorder in the construction industry. Recovery Week has been an annual event every year since. Although the pandemic kept the event from being held in person in 2020, recovery resources were made available to employers and local labor leaders to share with workers and families seeking support for substance use disorder treatment and recovery.
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