Helping The Mentally Ill Find Employment

Good Monday morning, folks!

I have tons of energy today, and it’s not just because it’s Monday morning. (While many people despise the first day after a glorious weekend, i.e. two-day break, I love Monday mornings. I love getting back to work! Which is also why many people don’t like being around me in the mornings, but, I digress.)

It’s also because, thanks to writer Chris Colin, I’ve just read a very inspiring article featured in today’s issue of the San Francisco Chronicle: The sanity of hiring the mentally ill.

What an awesome article title, huh?

Anyway, I’m not going to ruin the article for you, of course. However, I will tease you by saying it includes much information about a San Francisco program, Hire-Ability, that helps people with mental illnesses find employment, and aside from introducing us to program workers who passionately believe in the cause, it also briefly chronicles how Hire-Ability helped one clinically depressed man find employment after he – fortunately – failed at an attempt to take his own life.

My area has a program slightly similar to Hire-Ability; it’s actually an off-shoot of a program designed to help severely mentally ill people function in day-to-day activities. I’d like to see another program developed geared toward helping anyone with a mental health condition find employment, but, alas – those are the breaks for those of us living in rural areas. For now, anyway.

Check out the article and let us – and Chris – know what you think. And, if you have such a program in your area, be proud of it and speak up! I’d love to hear about it.