Connect with Change Makers
Collaboration can start with just one contact who has the passion and connections to put change in motion. "We had a visit from MaryAnn Lippert, who directs the Northern Region Office for the State of Wisconsin, Department of Administration," Boudreau recalls. Boudreau gave voice to the concerns of so many Chamber businesses about the toll substance use and misuse was taking on their workforces, their productivity, and ultimately, their bottom lines.
Lippert connected Boudreau and then Marinette Mayor Denise Ruleau to Louis Oppor of the DHS Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. "He found it very interesting that we were the first community that he heard express concern about the economic impact of substance abuse on business," Boudreau recalls. Oppor made introductions to the Governor's Workforce Development Group, putting change in motion.
The Anti-Opioid Task Force was born.
Show Businesses What's In It for Them
The Anti-Opioid Task Force worked with SCAODA to bring substance use prevention awareness to Marinette businesses. While most businesses welcomed the opportunity to address the problem, some were reluctant to take staff away from their jobs to attend presentations, fearing too much downtime. Others were unaware that workplace substance use was even a problem.
"We had to have the hard conversations [with business leaders]," says Annie Short, a substance abuse prevention specialist and SCAODA member when the Marinette collaboration formed.
The Task Force helped educate employers that by promoting prevention at work, businesses can cut down on absences and accidents, improve job performance, and create alliances with community prevention specialists and law enforcement, if needed.
To increase awareness, the Chamber engaged the help of local law enforcement to deliver presentations to employers and managers on the warning signs of workplace substance use and associated risks. Presenters explained, for example, that what might look like a gum wrapper tossed in the rest room is actually foil used to smoke heroin. They also shared with employers resources such as SAMHSA's free toolkit Making Your Workplace Drug-Free.3
“We explained to employers that the more they address drug use, the more likelihood they will have a productive workforce and the opportunity to help the community overall,” says Short.
Make the Case for Involvement
The Marinette collaboration also helped businesses understand the critical role they could play in stemming the community’s substance use problem—not only by promoting drug-free workplaces but also by providing a link to those individuals and families in greatest need.
Parents, for example, who might not attend an after-school program on the warning signs of youth drug use could be reached in their workplace.
"When we have after-school assemblies for parents, maybe five people show up," Short says. "The reality is we have to go where the parents are, and they're at their workplaces. We knew we could do a better job of connecting with businesses not only to educate managers about substance abuse among employees, but to reach parents to provide the education and training they need for themselves and their families."
Reduce Barriers to Participation
Employers who agreed to get on board with substance use prevention needed to make it doable within the constraints of their work day. Recognizing that time is money, the collaborating partners made lunchtime presentations available to businesses. This enabled employees to attend educational programming on substance use and misuse during the work day, when they would be more likely to attend, without taking time away from their jobs.
Participation in onsite prevention events also grew as more employees became interested in learning about the signs and symptoms of substance use and misuse. Other employers who've heard about the programming now want to bring it into their workplaces. As discussion of substance use prevention becomes more commonplace, the stigma lessens and program participation increases.
Streamline Efforts
The Tri-City Area United Way, which serves Marinette and Oconto, Wisconsin, and Menominee, Michigan, had been working on a multi-pronged approach to substance use prevention since early 2013. "We started noticing some people [in the Anti-Opioid Task Force] were involved in multiple other [prevention] groups around town," the Chamber's Boudreau says. "We realized we had some duplication of effort."
In 2014, with substance use prevention work with Marinette businesses now underway, the Anti-Opioid Task Force was brought under the United Way's Cradle to Career initiative Substance Abuse Task Force. This meant less duplication of effort and greater reach and support.
The United Way was happy to step up and take the reins.
Leave Your Ego at the Door
Businesses are an important part of promoting substance use prevention in the community. But Phil Everhart, Executive Director of the Tri-City Area United Way, says the key to successful collaboration is "leave your ego at the door" and be willing to tackle a mutual problem.
"Whether it was the business community, the medical community, or human services, we've all recognized that there was a problem that was growing fast and ugly," Everhart says. "We were willing to say, 'All right, we've got the problem. Let's get together and attack it head on.' As a result, the working relationships here between organizations has been phenomenal.”