SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (October 29, 2020) – Utah Community Builders, the social impact nonprofit of the Salt Lake Chamber, has released the Suicide Prevention in the Workforce Employer Toolkit during the launch of the new Workforce Resilience Through Mental Fitness initiative. The toolkit will equip the business community with information and tools to assess and improve the mental and emotional wellness of their employees.
“Far too many Utahns have endured the heartbreak of losing a loved one to suicide,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and Downtown Alliance. “The ray of hope is that suicide is preventable, and by implementing some simple yet important steps today, Utah’s business leaders can elevate the mental and emotional wellness of our workforce.
The workplace is a critical area to address mental health and suicide prevention. This Toolkit is a call to action for employers to implement and refine strategies focused on improving the mental health of their employees. This is a crucial part of a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention, outlined in the Utah Suicide Prevention State Plan, that can empower employees and save lives.
The Toolkit is divided into five sections:
-
Pre-Action Planning. Provides assessment and considerations for implementing new mental health and suicide prevention strategies in the workplace
-
Upstream Strategies. Addresses what organizations can do to bolster protective factors that prevent mental health problems in the first place.
-
Midstream Strategies. Discusses how organizations can identify employees who are experiencing higher levels of stress or who are in the early stages of a mental health or substance abuse problem.
-
Downstream Strategies. Guides organizations on what they need to do to ensure they respond in a safe and effective way if/when mental health or suicide crises occur.
-
Getting Started. Builds upon the previous sections and highlights what organizations can do to get started on addressing mental health in their work environment.
“This toolkit is a starting place to help our colleagues, coworkers, employees, and their families who are battling mental challenges,” said Clark Ivory, co-chair of the Utah Community Builders Advisory Board and CEO of Ivory Homes. “It is critical that we remove the stigma around these conversations. We must all recognize the need to work on metal fitness and help others in their journey.”
The Salt Lake Chamber’s Utah Community Builders created the toolkit in coordination with the Utah Department of Health, Utah Department of Human Services, Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition, and National Alliance on Mental Illness – Utah.
“By working through business leaders to promote best practices for suicide prevention and mental fitness for employees, these efforts will ripple through Utah’s families, communities, and the entire state,” said Lisa Eccles, co-chair of the Utah Community Builders Advisory Board, and President and COO of the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation. “The unrivaled partnerships between private sector leaders, clinical experts, and the broader community will truly move the needle on suicide prevention and workforce well-being.”
The launch event also showcased expert speakers in the fields of mental health in the workforce, suicide prevention, trauma-informed leadership, return on investment of mental fitness, and more.
To view the Suicide Prevention in the Workforce Employer Toolkit and learn more about the Workforce Resilience Through Mental Fitness initiative, visit slchamber.com/
