Expanding Your Toolkit: Strategies to Support People with Mental Health Conditions in Workforce Programs

For many people, the workplace can offer meaningful mental health support. But support can be delivered even before a person enters the workforce, during the job seeking process. Indeed, protecting the mental health of job seekers is vital to their eventual success in employment and to their overall well-being.  

American Job Center (AJC) staff and workforce partners play a critical role in recognizing customer needs, responding appropriately, and connecting individuals to the right supports. Equipping workforce professionals with practical strategies to address mental health needs strengthens job seekers’ employment outcomes. It also helps create welcoming environments that build customers’ trust, engagement, and success. Addressing mental health is not a side issue—it is central to helping individuals reengage in work, build confidence, and achieve their goals. 

The upcoming webinar, “Expanding Your Toolkit: Strategies to Support People with Mental Health Conditions in Workforce Programs,” will highlight practical approaches to increasing mental health awareness within workforce programs. Speakers from the National Center on Leadership for the Employment and Economic Advancement of People with Disabilities (LEAD Center) and practitioners from the Finger Lakes Workforce Development Board and RochesterWorks in New York will share real-world examples of how AJCs and workforce systems are implementing effective strategies to address mental health. Participants will walk away with tools they can apply immediately to better serve job seekers and support their own teams. 

In this session, you will learn: 

• How to recognize and respond to the mental health needs of job seekers in workforce programs. 

• Best practices from workforce peers who are successfully integrating mental health strategies into AJC operations. 

• Practical approaches to improving services and outcomes for job seekers as well as staff well-being through mental health supports. 

• Strategies to build stronger partnerships with mental health providers and community organizations.

Featured speakers:

• Sarah Loizeaux, LEAD Center, moderator 

• Annie Lorenz, LEAD Center, cofacilitator 

• Richard Davis, Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), welcome remarks 

• David Kelly, Finger Lakes Workforce Development Board, disability resource coordinator

• Lindsay Murphy, RochesterWorks, disability resource coordinator

REGISTER FOR THE JUNE 24 WEBINAR!

The LEAD Center is committed to ensuring that all attendees can participate fully in its webinars. Live CART and ASL interpreting services will be provided for this webinar. If you require additional accommodations, please email Courtney Williams at cwilliams@ndi-inc.org at least seven days before the event.

Registration Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Vg-8ep0pTPSVgqItuwEhjg