Gina Higgens, Account Manager for Perspectives, one of the two companies that makes up the Insulators Member Assistance Program (IMAP), filled in for Insulators LMCT Director Pete Ielmini’s monthly interview on the America’s Work Force Union Podcast.
Perspectives is an AllOne Health Company created to address issues with union members and their families. These issues can range from mental health to financial to legal and relationship issues.
Perspectives and another company, You-Turn, teamed up for IMAP, a free program for affiliated members of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers and their families.
Perspectives has a network of over 20,000 counselors that offers online or in-person resources to struggling individuals.
Higgens told AWF host Ed “Flash” Ferenc how the COVID pandemic heavily increased Perspectives workload because many individuals were struggling with job loss, which in some cases led to substance abuse.
Perspectives has worked directly with several different unions and labor organizations, including the HFIAW.
One of the struggles Higgens discussed was making unions aware that Perspectives is there to help them and gain their trust.
“We reach out to members and their families so they realize that we are a resource for daily living situations and they don’t have to wait until there’s a crisis,” Higgens said.
Ferenc mentioned that the opioid epidemic had significantly dropped within the last year and asked Higgens how Perspectives is going to continue moving forward.
“I feel good about that but that doesn’t mean that we back down,” Higgens said. “We want to continue to reach out to people so they know the stigma associated, whether it’s suicide or substance use, is an illness in our world and not a character flaw.”
An Assistance Program may not have all the answers but it’s a place to start that will help members deal with addiction, mental health and other stressors in life.
A problem Higgens has seen among union members involves taking risks that they wouldn’t normally take on the jobsite because mental health or substance abuse tends to cloud judgment.
“They need the support to know there are resources so they can stay safe on the job and keep clear thinking,” Higgens said.
To wrap up the interview, Higgens encouraged anyone struggling with their mental health to visit allonehealth.com.
“Reach out and we will do whatever we can do to answer your questions and figure out what might be best for yourself and your union,” Higgens said. “We’re here to make it easier to have a resource and make a difference in someone’s life.”