Health

AltaPointe’s Supported Employment program helps people with serious mental illnesses gain competitive employment

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AltaPointe staff working to help the people it serves.

AltaPointe Health provides 1 million primary and behavioral health services to more than 45,000 people each year across Alabama.

It is gratifying to watch the people we serve get a job, earn a paycheck, increase self-sufficiency, and see them contribute to society while managing their illness


MOBILE, Ala. (PRWEB)

Finding a job is difficult for some made even more complicated when managing a serious mental illness. AltaPointe’s Supported Employment Program aims to make that process easier. Here’s how it works. Program staff spends time building relationships with local businesses to develop job opportunities and work with AltaPointe consumers to match them with careers.

Supported Employment emphasizes that work is not the result of treatment and recovery but integral to both. The goal is to help people with a serious mental illness, or co-occurring substance use disorder find and keep satisfying jobs. From retail to food services to trade jobs, there are openings for consumers with varying degrees of education and skill, according to Pam Maumenee, assistant director of adult community services. All jobs are competitive and not set aside for persons with disabilities. They are part-time or full-time and pay minimum wage or higher.

“If job seekers choose to disclose, we can recommend them to employers and say, ‘here’s what this person can do or here’s what that person can do,’ and the employer says, ‘that’s what I need,’ and we make the connection. If job seekers prefer not to disclose their disability to employers, we can work behind the scenes to offer them full support.” Maumenee said. “Either option is fine, and we want the consumer to pick the strategy that feels most comfortable. It is also okay to change a disclosure preference during the job search or after hire.”

The argument that individuals with a serious mental illness should not or cannot work is empty, as many can and do work effectively.

AltaPointe’s current agency-wide data shows that 14.27% of adult consumers with a serious mental illness (SMI) work in competitive jobs, with 9.25% working full-time and 5.02% working part-time.

“It is gratifying to watch the people we serve get a job, earn a paycheck, increase self-sufficiency, and see them contribute to society while managing their illness,” said Maumenee.

Behavioral health experts add that unemployment for people with a serious mental illness can be much worse for mental health than employment stresses. Tuerk Schlesinger, AltaPointe Health CEO, supports the idea that the benefits of employment positively impact a person’s mental health and well-being.

“Work has proven to be an essential part of recovery,” Schlesinger added. “Since 1987, the AltaPointe Supported Employment program has been helping individuals enter or re-engage with the workforce through competitive employment. This can lead to better health outcomes for the most vulnerable population we serve.”

For more information on the Supported Employment Program, please call (205) 450-4301 or visit https://altapointe.org/services/supported-employment/.

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