Opioids in the Home Building Industry: Making it Your Business

Opioid addiction is our nation’s leading public health crisis, and it affects people across all socioeconomic classes, races, genders and jobs. The home building industry is no exception.

Get the facts:

• Overdoses left more than 107,000 Americans dead in 2021, an all-time high.
• Of the more than 93,000 Americans who died from drug-involved overdoses in 2020, nearly 70,000 died from opioid-involved overdoses driven by a proliferation of fentanyl.
• Around 15% of all construction workers in the United States have a substance abuse disorder compared to 8.6% of the general population of adults.
• Construction workers represent about 25% of fatal opioid overdoses among all workers.
• Opioid addiction often begins after being prescribed the drugs after an injury.

NAHB and its partners, Job-Site Safety Institute, Advocates for Human Potential, Inc., and SAFE Project are taking an innovative approach to addressing opioid use and misuse, viewing the problem holistically and creating solutions and educational resources that address intervention points across the spectrum of prevention, treatment, recovery and return-to-work. A proactive approach to this crisis with knowledge and without stigma is critical to the health of the industry and the people who work in it.

NAHB strongly encourages members to explore taking the No Shame Pledge in their companies to create a welcoming environment for workers who might be struggling.

NAHB also strongly encourages members to purchase over-the-counter Naloxone to keep in first aid kits to counteract the effects of opioid overdoses on job sites. Learn more about administering Naloxone.

Together, we’re Making Opioids our Business.

The opioid crisis is a top priority for federal policymakers and public health officials. Below are some national resources for employers and workers:

• What is Substance Abuse Treatment? A Booklet for Families
• SAFE Treatment Locator
• Workplace Guidelines to Prevent Opioid and Substance Abuse in the Construction Trades
• SAMHSA Opioid Treatment Program Directory
• Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit
• MorePowerfulNC.org: Overpowering NC's Opioid Epidemic
• Resources from Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reversing the addiction crisis in the U.S.
  • Addiction treatment finder: https://www.treatmentatlas.org/
  • Shatterproof's Just FIVE program, a series of five-minute learning experiences.

Click on the link for your state below to access resources from local public health officials.