People & Culture Mini-Retreat: Supporting Employee Mental Health in the Workplace

Event Details:
When: October 26, 2022 1:00 pm – October 26, 2022 4:00 pm
Location: 200 Wake Robin Drive, Shelburne, VT 05482

Cost To Attend:
Nonmembers – $65
VBSR Members – $45

Registration is open

Event hosted by: Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility

As a People & Culture professional, a lot has been expected of you in the past few years, especially in balancing ever-changing organizational needs with the mental health of your employees. Join VBSR, United Way and Working Bridges for an in-person mini-retreat where you can gain insight and tools to bring to your work regarding the current and upcoming information on employee wellbeing, retention, and stability through community partnerships.

Systemic issues and the “benefit cliff” can derail good employees from good jobs due to lack of access to essential resources such as child care, mental health resources, housing, transportation, and more. The cost to business is staggering when employees struggle with essential resources and community conditions make it difficult for employees to fully show up at work.

United Way’s Working Bridges will present an interactive activity called Strain to illustrate how community resources impact employee well-being, retention, productivity, and stability. Learn about community resources and new strategies such as United Way of Northwest Vermont’s Mental Health Initiative. Join us to identify ways to build a supportive workplace culture, explore community resource needs from different perspectives, identify key workplace benefits and supports that are inclusive of a highly diverse workforce, and take away strategies that you can bring back to your workplace. At this 3-hour, in-person event, you can expect:

  • Interactive mental-health focused activities that focus on real workplace scenarios
  • Insight from United Way’s Mental Health Initiative team related to
    • Adjusting to Vermont’s critical labor shortage of mental health providers

    • Strengthening and aligning resources for suicide prevention

    • The acute rise in youth mental health needs and how this will effect the rising workforce

  • A Mental Health Toolkit that you can take with you and use as a reference.
  • Meeting Agreements that strive for safer and confidential conversations among participants.
  • Time for discussion and connection with your peers over light beverages and snacks!

 

Meet Our Facilitators

Connie Beal, Director, Working Bridges Initiative

Connie Beal (she/her)

Working Bridges Initiative Director at United Way

I lead a team of skilled Resource Coordinators, who support employees in workplaces to navigate community resources to help with things like housing, transportation, childcare, financial resources, healthcare and more. I am responsible for training development, innovation, community partnerships and convening the Working Bridges employer network to identify and design strategies and pilots to elevate resources and identify gaps in supporting the ever-changing needs of Vermont’s diverse workforce. Prior to Working Bridges, I was the Senior Resource Coordinator at Vermont 2-1-1, a 24/7 health and human service helpline. I draw on experience in both nonprofit and public sectors, anti-violence, substance misuse prevention, and community public health. I hold a Bachelor of Psychology from Colby College (2003) and Master of Public Administration from the University of Vermont (2008). I am a graduate of Leadership Champlain, class of 2019. Offline and off work, you’ll find me on a hiking trail, playing with my children, running for exercise, or sourcing my next piece of chocolate.

Steven Berbeco, Director, Mental Health Initiative

Steven Berbeco (he/him)

Director, Mental Health Initiative at United Way

I believe that our greatest impact comes from sustained and committed work to validate and empower the voices of the community. While mental health has always been a priority of United Way of Northwest Vermont, the current pandemic has exposed the fault lines in our system of care and created greater need among our children, youth, and adults. These challenges can be opportunities for innovation, and my job is to facilitate stakeholder collaborations that ignite that innovation. Through hard work, we can advance well-being for Vermonters and create effective change.

I serve on several boards for my local community, including the Winooski School Board, and my work previously has included leadership in state, federal, and tribal education and social services. As superintendent for geographically isolated schools on a Native American reservation, I increased the graduation rate and reduced instances of youth self-harm and pregnancy. I earned a doctorate in education from Boston University and I am currently a graduate student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Northern Vermont University.

My greatest love is for my family and my community, which is like a larger family for us. We love exploring in the woods, with my wife leading the search for hard-to-find mushrooms and our two children collecting as many rocks and leaves as can fit in their pockets.

Location/COVID-19 Guidance

This event is being held at the beautiful campus of Wake Robin, a Life Plan Community in Shelburne, VT. Due to the vulnerable population that resides at Wake Robin, masks will be required for the entirety of this event.

Please stay home if you are exhibiting any symptoms related to COVID-19 as outlined by the VT Department of Health.

  • Fever (100.4 °F or higher)
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Chills
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headache
  • Sore throat
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Congestion or runny nose
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea​

Not everyone with COVID-19 has a fever. Even mild symptoms (like a headache or dry cough) could be signs of COVID-19. Symptoms may start 2 to 14 days after exposure to the virus. People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness.

Although it is not required, we encourage you to test negative on a COVID-19 test before attending this event. The CDC recommends that you test as close to the event as possible. Learn more about COVID-19 testing here.

Programming presented by:

Thank you to our host:

 

Questions? Please reach out to VBSR Education & Events Manager, Molly Barfuss, mollyb@vbsr.org.

SHRM-certified individuals who participate in this workshop are eligible to receive 3 SHRM PD credits, as VBSR is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for the SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP®.