NAHB and SAFE Project Offer Resources to Address Addiction

When talking to others about drug misuse and addiction, it is easy to assume that it won’t happen to us. But with more than 100,000 overdose deaths in America over the last year, chances are it has impacted someone you know, work with, or love.

And because construction workers are twice as likely to die from an overdose, the chances become even greater in the home building industry.

If you attended the 2022 International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Orlando last month, you saw members of the SAFE Project team providing resources and advice to help workers, supervisors and business owners address the addiction crisis plaguing our country. Despite everyone’s efforts, this crisis is out of control, and places us, our families and jobsites at risk.

For this reason, NAHB and SAFE Project partnered to provide no cost and low-cost resources for all NAHB members to prevent addiction, support individuals who are struggling with it and create a safe workplace for those in recovery.

Working together, NAHB and SAFE Project have created resources through our online portal to support individuals within the construction industry to address addiction.

Additionally, every few months, SAFE Project will alert NAHB members to opportunities available within your community to take an active role to address this crisis.

In April, SAFE Project will partner with Verde Environmental Technologies to provide interested members with a free at-home drug deactivation device. More than 70% of households have leftover prescription drugs in the home medicine cabinets. These drugs are the No. 1 source of prescription drugs for children.

The safest action you can take is to destroy these drugs in a convenient and environmentally safe way within your home. In the last two years, SAFE Project has distributed more than 71,000 pouches to assist individual households with deactivation and disposal of these medications right in the comfort of their own home.

In an effort to combat misuse, NAHB and SAFE Project have partnered to provide up to 5,000 FREE drug disposal pouches to NAHB members and their families throughout the month of April. Each Deterra Pouch can deactivate up to 90 pills, 12 ounces of liquid or 12 patches. There is a limit of one pouch per household. Request your pouch at www.safeproject.us/gone-for-good-nahb.

If you are interested in additional resources, please check these out:

SAFE Treatment and Family Support Locator: Find critical resources and options best matched to your needs or the needs of a loved one.

Get the Facts on Fentanyl: Preparation is key to addressing the addiction epidemic. Learn the facts about fentanyl and take action now.

Schedule a FREE Pain Assessment with Athletico: Chat with physical therapists on ways to manage your pain with physical therapy instead of medication, decreasing your odds of becoming dependent on opioids.