GEORGIA 988 CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY OUTREACH UPDATE — APRIL 2026
Posted by Lexicon Strategies on behalf of Georgia DBHDD | May 2026
In the population at the highest suicide risk of any occupation in Georgia, awareness of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is no longer trailing — it is leading. New survey results from the Georgia 988 Construction Advisory Committee, convened by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) and operationalized in partnership with Lexicon Strategies, show that 988 awareness among Georgia construction workers is now 18.5 percentage points higher than awareness in Georgia's general population. By every measure that matters, the campaign is winning.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Lexicon Strategies, in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), commissioned a statewide awareness, attitudes, and stigma survey of Georgia adults — with deliberate oversampling of the construction industry — fielded by Swayable, Inc. The instrument closed on April 14, 2026, with 702 valid Georgia respondents, of whom 93 self-identified as currently employed in construction or building materials. A parallel general-population survey (n=706) closed on the same date and provides the comparison baseline. Six in-depth qualitative interviews with Georgia construction workers were also conducted on the ResearchGOAT platform during the same field period.
The result is the rare outcome an industry-targeted public health campaign sets out to produce — and almost never does: a high-risk, hard-to-reach workforce that now exceeds the general population in awareness of the lifeline designed to save its life.
WHY IT MATTERS: THE RISK NUMBERS
Construction is the deadliest job in Georgia, and the campaign was built to meet that reality head-on.
58.6 per 100,000 — the suicide rate among Georgia construction and extraction workers (2017–2021), the highest of any occupation in the state.
165% above the all-Georgia-worker average of 22.1 per 100,000.
743 lives lost to suicide among Georgia construction workers between 2017 and 2021.
286% above average — the rate at which U.S. construction workers die by drug overdose nationally, second to no other industry.
Behind every percentage point of awareness is the potential for an intervention upstream of a death.
THE HEADLINE: CONSTRUCTION AWARENESS OUTPACES THE GENERAL POPULATION
Two parallel Swayable, Inc. surveys closed on April 14, 2026. The Georgia general population read came in at 48.7%. The Georgia construction-industry read came in at 67.2% — an 18.5-point lift over the broader public.
This is the outcome the Building Hope strategy was designed to produce. It is also rare. Industry-targeted public health awareness campaigns almost never close the gap to general-population baselines, let alone exceed them. None of the most disciplined evaluations of comparable construction-industry mental health programs nationally have, to our knowledge, delivered a lift of this magnitude.
THE TACTICS THAT LANDED
The campaign — operating under the renamed banner Strong Enough to Care. Tough Enough to Talk. — was built to put 988 in the places construction workers already go and the rituals they already practice. The exposure data shows the strategy worked:
61.8% of construction workers have seen 988 jobsite signage — gate signs, hard hat stickers, porta-potty interior decals, and bilingual leave-behinds — compared with 32.7% of non-construction respondents.
45.9% recall 988 billboards along construction-dense corridors, compared with 16.1% of non-construction respondents.
41.6% know the 988ga.org/construction microsite — more than double the 20.4% recall in the broader public.
17.7% recall a 988 message in a toolbox talk or safety meeting — nearly four times the 4.6% rate among non-construction respondents.
The toolbox-talk number is the one that may matter most. The 988 message has been integrated into one of the most regular and culturally meaningful rituals of the construction workday: mental health is being delivered the same way fall protection is delivered — repeatedly, professionally, and without singling anyone out.
WINNING BY EVERY MEASURE
Workers are not just seeing the campaign. They are ready to act on it.
71.8% of Georgia construction workers say they would feel comfortable encouraging a coworker to call 988 — the strongest single comfort signal in the data.
69.5% would feel comfortable using 988 themselves.
75.2% recognize that mental health challenges are prevalent in their industry.
76.1% recognize the same about substance use.
A CO-DESIGN WIN
The result is the proof point of co-design. Following sustained input from the Georgia 988 Construction Advisory Committee — convening industry leaders, unions, contractors, and worker representatives — the campaign was renamed in 2025 from Building Hope to Strong Enough to Care. Tough Enough to Talk. The pivot honors the industry's identity and reframes asking for help as a proof of strength rather than a violation of it.
Founding committee partners include:
Associated General Contractors of Georgia (AGC Georgia)
Associated Builders and Contractors of Georgia
Home Builders Association of Georgia
Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association
Georgia Hispanic Construction Association
The Hispanic Construction Institute
"We know 988 can save lives. But awareness and trust are everything. This campaign ensures we're reaching the workers where they are — with tools, training, and real conversations."
— Commissioner Kevin Tanner, Georgia DBHDD
"We are facing a crisis hiding in plain sight. Behind the hard hats and jobsite grit are workers grappling with real pain. Our mission is to build more than just roads, homes, and buildings — we're building a culture of support."
— Cindy Morley, Director of Public Affairs, Home Builders Association of Georgia, and Advisory Committee member
VOICES FROM THE FIELD
"I have been seeing a lot on social media about the 988 campaign… So what I gather is like a helpline for people that's going through it mentally… may have like suicidal thoughts, that may just need some type of encouraging words and help."
— Jerone, 40, General Foreman, Columbus
"We do pretty much annually as a toolbox talk… we do a whole series of toolbox talks, one about safety, but then we also include mental health topics. We do mention nine, eight, eight as a lifeline, as well as the suicide prevention chat line."
— Simone, 38, Safety Coordinator, Atlanta
"I want to hear personal experiences from people that have lived the life and walked in those shoes. I want to see guys with beat-up hands and achy bodies and hurt knees just like me."
— Cameron, 34, Lead Plumber, Buford
"I believe having somebody they trust — somebody that is also in the construction environment — to speak out about it, to offer a helpline or a podcast, something where they could actually reach out in private."
— Pedro, 42, Construction Consultant, Dalton (U.S. veteran)
STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE NEXT PHASE
Make presence — not events — the operating model. Workers want continuous, ambient visibility, not annual awareness moments. Shift further toward year-round assets that live on the jobsite.
Extend toolbox-talk integration from Atlanta to statewide. Turn the toolbox-talk integration into a statewide protocol with ready-to-deliver weekly scripts in English and Spanish.
Build the supervisor handoff. Equip supervisors with a confidential-handoff playbook that protects workers from disclosure consequences.
Invest in worker-authored video. Commission short-form videos featuring real Georgia construction workers — across trade, tenure, gender, race, and language.
Close the union-to-non-union gap. Formalize partnerships with GC and supplier-led safety programs, OSHA training providers, and trade-school apprenticeship pipelines.
LEARN MORE
To learn more, access free resources, or partner with the campaign, visit 988ga.org/construction.
Prepared by Lexicon Strategies on behalf of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. Find the right thing. Then do it right. Plan. Partner. Program. Prove.™
