A New Way to SAVE at Sporting Change

By Senior Office Assistant Brenden Nickels

Every October, The Kraus-Anderson Community Foundation holds its annual Sporting Change pickleball tournament. In 2026 the tournament is supporting SAVE: Suicide Awareness Voices of Education. 

History

SAVE was formed in 1989 by three Minneapolis families who each had a family member die by suicide. They formed the non-profit to serve as a way to teach the public about suicide prevention and as a resource for those impacted by suicide. Today, they continue to do those things, as well as shine a spotlight on mental health to reduce the stigma that suicide has and helping to decrease the number of suicides each year. 

“If you look at the evolution of SAVE, look at it in thirds,” said SAVE CEO Erich Mische. “The first third of the organization was getting it started, the families and volunteers who really were the ones that were running the organization. The second third was really focused on bringing in professionals who worked in the subject matter field, developing ways to raise awareness and to get people to feel comfortable talking about suicide. And we’re now in, what I would say, our third chapter of the organization.” 

What SAVE Does

Currently, with the help of the Minnesota Mental Health Support in Construction grant, SAVE has a program that helps employees of construction companies with suicide prevention resources. This program is called IBEAM (Ideal Body Environment and Mind) and it works in three parts:  

  • A messaging campaign to encourage employees to hold conversations about their mental health 
  • A skill-building workshop, helping peer support efforts 
  • A leadership component focused on integration of these steps into commitments to safety and security 

Another program that SAVE has created is One Step Ahead, an online training course one can take that shows the core concepts of preventing suicide and shows how you can help someone who may be considering suicide. This course has a series of possible scenarios, with a conservation activity where you can practice such conversations.  

 

Risk of Suicide in Construction

Construction workers face a greater risk of suicide than any other profession in the world at a staggering 1 in 4 chance.  About 97% of construction workers are men, and 38% are between ages 45 and 64. Construction workers often encounter multiple factors that can lead to an increased risk of suicide:  

  • Sleep deprivation by working long hours 
  • Pain caused from physical demands on the job 
  • Pain medication addiction  
  • The difficulty of getting help because of the stereotypical nature of the job, where getting help would look “weak” 
  • A higher risk of owning firearms 
  • The isolating nature of the job, which may mean having to move to different projects, making it harder to form long-lasting connections with others 

“While a lot of progress has been made in raising awareness about mental health in this country as well as in the construction industry, there’s still work to be done in bringing more awareness about the impact of suicide itself on the industry,” Mische encourages.  

Other Free Resources

In addition to what SAVE provides, such as IBEAM and One Step Ahead, you can call the National Suicide Hotline at 988, text “HELLO” (or”AYUDA” for Spanish) to 741741. If you’re a veteran, you can call 988 and press 1 or go to Veterans Crisis Line for services related to you. 

In addition, for the LGBTQ community, The Trevor Project offers crisis counseling for them. You can call them at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 678678. 

Source: Help and crisis services for people in mental distress