FAIRFAX, Va. – For decades, when a member of the International Association of Sheet Metal Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, or SMART, (formerly the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association) had a personal problem, they would turn to a fellow member for help. For small issues, friends and mentors dispensed good advice just fine. However, for those members with deeper problems such as thoughts of suicide or drug and alcohol abuse and substance use disorder, friends and mentors were lost as to what advice to give.

The Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT) is working with SMART’s Member Assistance Program (MAP), formally the Union Member Assistance Coordinator (UMAC) program, to train members to guide their peers in the direction of professional assistance such as therapy, rehabilitation and eventual recovery. Read more...