What is a Recovery Friendly Workplace?
Substance use disorders (SUD) impact all workplaces. According to the National Institutes of Health, 75% of adults with untreated SUD are part of the US workforce – and they miss around 50% more work days than their fellow employees.

A Recovery Friendly Workplace (RFW) keeps employees on the job while they recover from SUD and has policies that support the recovery process. These policies emphasize help, hope, and realize the economic potential of healthy employees.Learn more about the benefits for businesses that implement recovery friendly policies.


Connecticut's 5 Principles
The Department of Health has identified 5 Key Principles to guide the development of a new approach to dealing with substance use disorder (SUD) in the workplace. Here’s a summary of the 5 Key Principles and what they mean.

1. EARLY IDENTIFICATION
SUD in general does not go away without treatment, so it’s essential to be alert to the issues, identify employees who may be struggling with SUD, and intervene early so that the problem can be addressed and contained. Employees who appear to be impaired in the workplace should be assessed according to employer policies and made to feel that they are receiving compassionate attention that’s intended to help.

2. INSTANT SUPPORT
Employers who are willing to take fast action on this issue are more likely to retain their employees, increase productivity, and be recognized for having a positive company culture. The key is to establish your Recovery Friendly Workplace first so there’s a framework for helping the employees who need it.

3. EMPLOYER FLEXIBILITY
Some employees with SUD may need to take a leave of absence for treatment. It’s critical to see the advantages of keeping an employee who can be a long-term contributor to the company. Other employees in recovery may benefit from the structure and order of their jobs. They also may get a sense of purpose and identity, stability, and social support. So it’s important to be flexible in your thinking about SUD in the workplace. For some employees, their job is an important part of recovery. The employer’s flexibility may even be the catalyst for the employee to get help in the first place. So be prepared to be open-minded in your approach to implementing an RFW.

4. REGULAR REVIEW
SUD is a disability that requires simple, but consistent communications. Due to the chronic nature of addiction, and the necessity of external motivation during the early stages of recovery, regular review of an employee’s job performance by his or her supervisor(s) should be conducted in an atmosphere of positive reinforcement.

5. ENLISTING SUCCESS
Large issues that impact the workplace (like SUD) can be solved more effectively when organizations mobilize together. For example, look at workplace safety. It takes employers, employees, union officials, contractors, suppliers, distributors, and others in the supply chain to collectively make safety a priority. When this is achieved, safety improves and accidents are reduced. Addressing substance use as a workplace issue is no different. It’s up to the companies
Get more information, resources and the full Recovery Friendly Workplace Toolkit at recoveryworksct.org.
Events at a Glance
A Day of Healing: Holistic Healing Through Integrative Medicine Conference
Dec. 4th, 9 AM - 4:30 PM


Vaping, Did you Know? – A Family Conversation
December 7th, 7 - 8 PM


Talking with Teens about
Underage Drinking 
December 8th, 2 - 3:30 PM


How to Talk About Racism: Advancing our Work to Support Children, Youth, and their Families during COVID-19 ​
December 8th, 3 - 4:30 PM


Families Rising Together: Creating Connections that Sustain Us
December 8th, 6 - 7 PM
Weekly Support Groups

    Thursdays, 7 - 8:30PM

C.A.R.E.S. Virtual Hope and Support Group Meetings
Mondays, 7 - 9 PM

FREE Teacher
Support Groups
Every Wednesday, 7 - 8 pm

Peer-Led Support
Groups from Ripple
Tuesdays & Thursdays
10 PM - 12 AM

SMART Recovery Family & Friends Support Group
Mondays, 5 - 6PM

Peer-to-Peer Support Group for ALL First Responders (including Corrections)
Every Friday at 10 AM
Text your email address to Stacy Raymond at 203.493-0344 and she will send Zoom link.
Announcements
Regional Suicide Advisory Board Meeting
Friday, December 11th from 12 - 2 PM

Open to members of the public from Region 1, which includes Bridgeport, Darien, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Monroe, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston, Westport and Wilton. RSVP to info@thehubct.org to get the meeting link. 
Virtual Focus Group
Job Opportunity
Full-Time Prevention Coordinator, Stratford Community Services

This position serves as the Drug Free Communities Project Coordinator. This grant-funded position is responsible for utilizing the Strategic Prevention Framework to support the Stratford Partnership for Youth and Families to increase community collaboration and reduce youth substance abuse.
Resources
Uprooting Addiction Podcast
FREE Monthly Training Institutes LIVE! Virtual Series
Each month, choose two from four virtual 90-minute workshops focused on integrating services and improving outcomes for children, youth, young adults, and their families. Learn more.
In the News
In just one year, from 2017 to 2018, vaping by high school seniors increased more than “for any substance we’ve ever monitored in 45 years, and the next year it rose again almost as much,” said Richard Miech, principal investigator for the national survey Monitoring the Future.

By 2019, a quarter of 12th graders were vaping nicotine, nearly half of them daily. Daily vaping rose in all three grades surveyed — eighth, 10th and 12th — “with accompanying increases in the proportions of youth who are physically addicted to nicotine,” Dr. Miech and colleagues reported in The New England Journal of Medicine last year. Read full article.
People with mental illness are at greater risk for developing COVID-19 than the general population, and vice versa -- meaning reverberations from the pandemic are likely to be felt long after the virus has been brought to heel.

And whether infected or not, minorities, underserved communities, and others experiencing health disparities are at double the risk of long-term mental health impacts from COVID-19.

That's the warning from National Institutes of Health researchers, speaking during the first in a three-part webinar series hosted by the National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine. Read full article.
The Hub: Behavioral Health Action Organization for Southwestern CT
A division of the Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP) 
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