6th US/Canada Forum on Workplace, Mental Health and
Productivity in Denver
Denver,
Colorado. October 4, 2014. This past Friday, the 6th US/Canada Forum on
Workplace, Mental Health and Productivity was held in Denver, Colorado, hosted
by tw telecom, the Carson J Spencer Foundation, and Mental Health International.
The theme for this year's Forum was unprecedented: how employers can make
suicide prevention a health and safety priority. Almost 70 CEOs and high level
community influencers participated in this five-hour Forum including top
representatives from RK Mechanical, the U.S. Postal Service, Wells Fargo, Bank
of the West, Denver Fire Department and Level (3).
Governor Hickenlooper welcomed the esteemed guests and applauded their
efforts in taking the time to expand their knowledge and the willingness to
take what they learn back to their networks.
“Suicide affects three families per day in Colorado and Colorado is
consistently one of the 10 highest states in suicide rates. The first step in prevention is creating an
environment where people can talk about it, including the workplace. Our goal is to build support, and the
workplace provides a huge opportunity for prevention efforts.”
Host and CEO of tw telecom Larissa Herda shared her own experience around
family members who have had struggles with mental health illnesses that have
led to suicide. She also echoed the
Governor’s hope in seeing the workplace as a safe environment for people to
feel like they have support and can access help. “Through sharing my own story, I have opened
the doors for others in our company (tw telecom) to share theirs.”
The conversation that took place among participants demonstrated genuine
interest in understanding leaders’ role in getting upstream from the crisis of
suicidal behavior. They understood both the human and economic costs of suicide
deaths and attempts and wanted to know more about the strategies involved in
preventing or alleviating that level of despair and isolation. International mental
health and suicide prevention experts from all over the U.S., Canada and
Australia shared several leadership and programmatic tactics that have been
shown to improve outcomes such as strategic communication, skill training, mental
health resources, and more. Additional presenters included U.S. Army General
Peter Chiarelli (Ret), Colorado Senator Linda Newell, and former NFL player
Dwight Hollier.
“We need to promote the human dignity of people living with mental health
conditions. The opposite of isolation is connectedness the opposite of despair
is hope, as leaders and organizations you can help create these protective
factors in the workplace.” Eduardo Vega – Executive Director, Mental Health
Association of San Francisco
“Why do we not talk about mental health in the workplace? Myths and
Stigma. Business leaders are our
community gatekeepers, but are often not trained appropriately. There is no way to break stigma through silence. Business leaders are often champions of a
cause, and have the ability to create significant change.” Joel Bosch – Chief
Operating Officer, eCD Market
As indicated by requests for follow-up, the momentum from this event
promises to be great. The energy was palatable as these leaders left to go back
to their busy lives; their hearts were moved with a relevant call to action,
and they were equipped to begin a road map for next steps.
Denver,
Colorado. October 3, 2014. October 9th is National Depression Screening Day!
Knowing that 90% of people who die by suicide have some mental health condition
– most often depression – an important component in “upstream” suicide
prevention is regular mental health screenings.
Screenings are one of the best low cost, high impact tools a workplaces,
schools and health organizations can offer.
Just like we screen for high blood pressure and cholesterol, we can also
screen for depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. Screening helps us
identify emerging problems early in their course of development and link people
to resources to treat these problems before they become insurmountable.
