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    We Care At Work – Creating a Healthy & Drug-Free Workforce
    Focus on Business Community Makes Economic Impact

    Finding a way to help the community address issues related to alcohol and drug abuse and addiction can be tricky. “With so much information coming at people, it is easy to ignore it all unless it’s in your own backyard,” said Mike Schoenhofer, executive director of the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Allen, Auglaize and Hardin Counties.

    This was the problem Mike and his team faced when they were approached by the Allen County Chamber of Commerce and Allen County Economic Development Group.  Manufacturers and other businesses in the community were having difficulty finding and keeping employees who could pass a drug test; a problem which was affecting their bottom lines.

    “We thought about doing a big PR push - telling people not to use drugs, some kind of big education program with a big universal approach.  But every time we thought about those projects, we didn’t get the feeling that we would make an impact,” said Mike.

    Instead, his team, along with other community stakeholders, decided to focus on individual businesses to help those companies develop customized drug-free workplace policies specifically tailored to fit their needs and culture.  Working Partners®, a subject-matter expert, was approached to help develop the program that eventually became “We Care at Work.”

    “By working with small group of employers, we felt we could make a large impact,” said Mike who likened the process to growing a plant, which first grows roots before sprouting and growing quickly.  Mike said that this approach helps break through the noise on the issue and helps businesses realize they need to pay attention.

    “We Care at Work” has been endorsed by all Chambers of Commerce in the tri-county area.  And while not every business who learns about the “We Care at Work” program decides to apply, Mike shared that this approach is increasing awareness of alcohol/drug issues in the business community, and exposing employers to services in the community to support employees who are struggling with alcohol and drug abuse and addiction.

    “It’s important that the business community recognizes the benefits of getting people into treatment instead of terminating them or turning them away to apply at an employer down the street.  The impact of a business having a good, solid workforce, and the economic impact on the community when more people are getting jobs – it raises the economic benefits for everyone.”

    Business awarded “We Care at Work” scholarships attend 15 hours of classroom education, receive individual consultation to customize or enhance their comprehensive drug-free workplace policies and programs, and are connected with an array of business-friendly services to support their efforts.

    For more information about the scholarship program, contact:

    Mike Schoenhofer
    Executive Director, We Care People
    529 South Elizabeth Street
    Lima, OH  45804
    mike@mhrsb.org

    Article provided courtesy of:

    Working Partners
    1653 Brice Rd.
    Reynoldsburg, OH  43068
    866-354-3397