Ep 19: Could Families Hold the Key to Construction's Mental Health Crisis? with Josh Vitale & Angelo Suntres

00:00 / 01:20:45

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Published on February 26, 2026

•Skilled AF Podcast | Skilled Trades & Construction Careers

*This episode discusses suicide, substance use, addiction, and workplace crisis. Listener discretion is advised.

Construction consistently ranks among the most at-risk industries for suicide and overdose deaths, and Josh Vitale knows this firsthand. A former lineman turned senior superintendent, he navigated two dozen crisis interventions on a single job site before co-founding Project BUILT, a national nonprofit addressing suicide and addiction in the trades. Angelo Suntres, Founder of Human Side of Construction and previous guest on Skilled AF, has spent his career inside large construction companies in Canada, witnessing the same patterns and working to improve culture and the human experience for the trades and broader construction industry.

Together, they bridge the field and office, and get honest about what's really driving the crisis, why the industry keeps falling short, and what it's actually going to take to protect the people who build our world.

In this episode we cover:

>Josh Vitale’s Journey & Starting Project BUILT

>The Reality Behind the Mental Health Crisis

>The Impact of Isolation

>Trauma Coming Into the Industry

>Redefining Mental Toughness

>Psychological vs Physical Safety

>Construction’s “Human Extraction” Problem

>Work-Family Conflict

>Family as the Foundation & Missing Link

>What Systemic Change Looks Like

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger or experiencing a mental health crisis, please take one of the following actions: