CISCO Connects Opens the Conversation on Mental Health in the Construction Industry
October 1, 2026
BURR RIDGE – CISCO launched its new CISCO Connects seminar series with a powerful and candid conversation about mental health, suicide prevention and the need to create a culture within the construction industry where workers need to feel comfortable asking for help.
Before the seminar began, attendees gathered for dinner generously provided by Murray Legal Group. The evening offered an opportunity for fellowship, allowing Union members and industry representatives to connect, build relationships and share conversations before turning their attention to an important issue affecting the construction industry.
Held Sept. 17, 2026, at the Oak Brook-based Roofers & Waterproofers Local 11 during National Suicide Prevention Month, this inaugural seminar featured NAMI DuPage Director of Community Education Lissette Duarte, who provided attendees with information about mental health, how to recognize warning signs and how to support coworkers who may be struggling. The Chicago-based Murray Legal Group provided dinner for attendees
CISCO Executive Director Stephanie Kifowit opened the program by emphasizing why starting the conversation is so important. “For tonight discussion, it didn’t matter if we only got one person to show up,” Kifowit said. “That’s one person we can touch and educate so they can go back and talk to their groups, their friends and their organizations.”
Duarte explained that mental health affects how people think, feel, handle stress, relate to others and make decisions. For construction workers, those challenges can be compounded by demanding schedules, physical exhaustion, injuries, chronic pain, time away from home and the uncertainty of employment.
But some of the evening’s most impactful moments came from the attendees themselves. During open discussions, Union members and industry representatives spoke candidly about bullying, isolation, financial stress and the fear workers may have about speaking up. One attendee shared the story of an Apprentice who died by suicide after enduring repeated mistreatment by a foreman. Others discussed losing family members to suicide and the loneliness that can accompany depression.
One issue became apparent, there was a recurring theme that culture matters. Attendees discussed how jobsite culture can change when workers are willing to speak up, listen to one another and recognize that everyone handles stress differently.
“We don’t talk to each other. We don’t have connections between each other anymore,” one attendee said. “Have a voice. Be the voice. And if you can’t be the voice, be the one who listens.”
Duarte encouraged Labor leaders and supervisors to remember three important steps: Recognize, Respond and Refer. That means recognizing when someone may be struggling, responding with compassion and connecting workers with appropriate resources.
She also stressed that asking someone directly if they are thinking about suicide does NOT increase the risk. Instead, giving someone an opportunity to talk about those feelings can help reduce the danger of acting on them.
The first CISCO Connects seminar demonstrated that changing the culture begins with something simple but powerful: conversation. Duarte reminded attendees, workers should not wait until they reach a crisis to seek help. “You are more than the work you do.”
