Personal Accountability Changes Today: The EDA PACT

At EDA Contractors, safety has always meant more than hard hats, harnesses, and jobsite procedures. It also means creating an environment where people feel safe enough to speak up when they need help.

That belief is at the heart of EDA PACT.

PACT, which stands for Personal Accountability Changes Today, provides a safe, caring, and judgment-free resource for employees seeking support related to substance abuse and addiction. The program is built around a simple idea: asking for help should not cost someone their dignity, their career, or the support of the people around them.

Born From Our People

PACT did not begin as a corporate initiative. It grew from employees recognizing a problem and choosing to do something about it.

At his first EDA Town Hall in 2018, Kevin Smith, a carpenter by trade and someone in recovery himself, noticed an employee who appeared to be struggling with addiction. Kevin recognized something familiar in what he saw.

A few months later, that employee passed away as a direct result of the disease.

The loss stayed with Kevin. He reached out to EDA CEO Ed DeAngelis, openly shared his own experience with recovery, and offered to be there for anyone at EDA facing a similar struggle.

That conversation became the beginning of something much larger.

What started with one employee willing to be vulnerable grew into a formal program designed to give EDA employees a path toward treatment, recovery, and a successful return to work.

Accountability With Compassion

PACT is not about ignoring accountability. In fact, accountability is built directly into its name.

It is about recognizing that accountability and compassion can exist together.

Employees who self-identify and ask for help can be connected with professional treatment and recovery resources while knowing EDA will support them through the process. The goal is to remove the fear that often prevents someone from speaking up and replace it with a clear message: seeking help is a sign of strength.

That support can extend beyond treatment itself, from helping employees navigate resources to creating a path back to work following successful rehabilitation.

For EDA, it comes back to supporting our people as individuals, not simply as employees.

Creating Space for Conversation

PACT has also helped bring conversations about addiction, recovery, mental health, and overall wellness into the open.

The annual PACT Wellness Fair is one way EDA continues that conversation. The event brings together treatment providers, health care professionals, union representatives, community organizations, and other resources so employees can learn what support is available for themselves or someone they care about.

Just as importantly, it creates visibility.

Addiction often thrives in silence. By talking about it openly, sharing stories of recovery, and making resources accessible, EDA hopes to create a culture where employees know they do not have to struggle alone.

More Than a Program

PACT represents something bigger about EDA’s culture.

Our industry is built on grit. Construction professionals are accustomed to solving problems, pushing through difficult conditions, and getting the job done. Those qualities are strengths, but they can also make admitting that you need help incredibly difficult.

PACT challenges the idea that strength means handling everything on your own.

It reinforces a culture where people look out for one another, where vulnerability can be met with support, and where someone’s most difficult moment does not have to define the rest of their story.

Because at EDA, taking care of our people is part of taking care of the business.

And when someone is willing to take that first step toward change, we want them to know there are people standing beside them.