The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMSHA) has outlined 8 strategic initiatives to focus their work in 2014. Within those priorities, SAMHSA acknowledges the role that employers can play in the prevention and recovery from mental illness and substance abuse disorders via workplace programs, and increasing access to meaningful employment. EARN staff recently spoke with Risa Fox, Public Policy Analyst with SAMHSA. Risa shared her thoughts on the employment of people with mental health issues. EARN: The prevalence rate for mental health issues among working age adults is high (around 25%), but many employers have been slow to adopt practices to accommodate mental health disabilities. Why do you think that is? I think a lot of companies are still at early stages of learning how to address the mental health needs of their workforce. Widespread prejudice and misconceptions about mental illness are difficult to counter and often impede progress. Despite this, mental health conditions are surprisingly common and one in five people experiences a mental illness in any given year. Most people have some experience with mental illnesses through family members, friends, colleagues or other members of their community. Workers with mental health needs may benefit from a variety of accommodations in the workplace including quiet work settings, assistive technology, and service dogs. Most accommodations are not expensive and there are benefits to the individual and the employer. Recent studies show that people with mental illness who are employed are less likely to use other health or mental health services or relapse as frequently. Once businesses become more aware of the benefits of addressing the mental health needs of the workforce, such as reduced absenteeism, increased productivity, and reduced health care costs, businesses will be likely to see this as a positive investment. EARN: Some have called mental health the “last frontier” of disability awareness in the workplace – would you agree with that? What do you think needs to happen so that mental health issues gain equal footing with other types of disabilities, when it comes to the workplace? SAMHSA’s mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on communities. We believe that employment is key to recovery from these conditions and accelerates the healing process. Regardless of disability status anyone can have ups and downs and cyclical issues in their employment history. Whether they have mental health issues, or physical issues like diabetes or heart disease, all of these health conditions have the potential to impact productivity. We do know that negative attitudes, prejudice, and discrimination are associated with mental illnesses and there is much work to be done to change attitudes and beliefs. There are some large companies that have made a case for ensuring that they hire people with behavioral health programs and have been very successful; for example Lowe’s and CVS. EARN: Recent, high-profile tragic events have created a national conversation about mental illness in the workplace, not all of which has been constructive. What positive things do you think could come out of these conversations, and what worries do you have about the impact of these events on public perception of people with mental illness? At the National Conference on Mental Health on June 3, 2013, President Barack Obama applauded the dozens of commitments made by organizations representing media, educators, health care providers, faith communities, and foundations to increase understanding and awareness of mental health. The Obama Administration has taken a number of steps to raise awareness and improve care for Americans experiencing mental health issues, including expanding mental health coverage for millions of Americans through the Affordable Care Act, improving access to mental health services for veterans and helping educators recognize and refer students who show signs of mental illness. The National Conference on Mental Health is designed to increase understanding and awareness of mental health. As part of this effort, the Administration is launching mentalhealth.gov, a new, consumer-friendly website with clear and concise tools to help with the basics of mental health, the signs of mental illness, how to talk about mental health, and how to get help. The website also includes a series of videos featuring celebrities and ordinary Americans whose lives have been touched by mental illness. SAMHSA will release a Toolkit for Community Conversations About Mental Health to support communities interested in holding conversations about mental health using consistent information and approaches. The Toolkit has three parts: an Information Brief, a Discussion Guide and an Organizing Guide. These components of the Toolkit will help communities and individuals start a conversation about mental health and help identify innovative and creative actions to meet the mental health needs of our nation. Through MentalHealth.gov and SAMHSA’s Toolkit for Community Conversations about Mental Health we can all work together to provide youth and adults accurate information about the prevention, treatment, recovery of mental health conditions coupled with open spaces to tell their stories, ask for help, share their successes, and support one another. These conversations will also give us a venue to highlight the importance of recovery, supporting those in recovery, and for everyone to see that recovery is possible. The entire SAMHSA Toolkit for Community Conversations About Mental Health will be available soon via the SAMHSA Website, the SAMSHA Store and MentalHealth.gov. The Information Brief section of this toolkit is available for print and electronic download in the SAMHSA Store and at www.mentalhealth.gov/talk/community-conversation/index.html