We Make It Our Business - We Care at Work
Two years ago the Lima / Allen County Chamber of Commerce and the Allen Economic Development Group partnered with the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board to designed a unique and innovative strategy to help employers keep good workers and to help workers stay on the job. We called it - We Care at Work. The problem we faced was that there were more jobs available in our counties than there were workers. Can you believe it? There were jobs going unfilled in our communities! One of the biggest reasons was that many workers applying for jobs could not pass a simple drug screen. And random drug screens of already employed workers were turning up positive. The situation was hurting our employers, hurting our families, and hurting our economy. We decided to do something about it. So far 9 companies have begun to participate in the program that involves:
A comprehensive drug free workplace policy that is tailored to the needs of each company. This is fully funded by the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board.
Employees and Supervisors are trained and educated on the policy as well as given education about drugs in the workplace.
Random screenings are conducted throughout the year.
Employees who test positive on a drug screen are given the opportunity to participate in a comprehensive education, intervention, and treatment program at Coleman Professional Services.
Our goals were simple – 1. Help employers to retain good workers. 2. Help workers stay on the job and in the community. 3. Help our local economy to grow. 4. Intervene at the earliest stage possible with a person using drugs. It is another way that the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board is working to make our communities safe, strong, and healthy. Vote FOR mental health and recovery services on May 6th.
