The Vermont Association for Mental Health and Addiction Recovery

06/12/2026

This Men's Mental Health Awareness Month, we're recognizing something important:

Many men experience depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, substance use challenges, and thoughts of su***de - but often don't talk about it.

The pressure to "have it all together" can make it harder to seek support.

At VAMHAR, we believe healing happens through connection, compassion, and community. Whether someone is navigating mental health challenges, recovery, grief, stress, or simply a difficult season of life, everyone deserves spaces where they can show up authentically and be met with understanding.

You don't have to be in crisis to reach out.
You don't have to have the right words.
You don't have to do it alone.

This month and every month, let's make room for honest conversations and support one another.

💙 Who's someone you'll check in with today?

06/11/2026

Two-thirds of people are impacted by substance use, either personally, or through a family member, partner, or close friend.

Two-thirds!

That's not a statistic about a small, struggling population. It's a description of the room you're sitting in right now. The team you manage. The coworkers you eat lunch with. The employees whose names you know.

Substance use doesn't stay outside the workplace. It shows up in concentration, in attendance, in how someone responds to stress, in whether they can stay. And it shows up in the secondary impact — the colleague who's worrying about a family member, the manager carrying concern for their team.

Recovery Friendly Workplaces don't try to fix all of this. They create the conditions where people feel supported enough to ask for help, and where help is actually available.
Vermont's communities take care of each other. Vermont's workplaces can do the same.

We invite you to reflect:
When you think about your team — not as employees, but as whole people — what do you know about what they're carrying?

06/10/2026

In 1987, the American Medical Association formally recognized addiction as a medical condition. One that affects brain function, behavior, and health in measurable, treatable ways.

That was nearly four decades ago. And yet, in many workplaces, the response to substance use still looks more like a moral judgment than a health response.
People hide it. Managers don't know what to say. Policies are punitive rather than supportive. Employees leave, or are pushed out, before anyone tries to help.

Recovery Friendly Workplaces start from a different premise: that substance use disorder is a health condition, and that like other health conditions, early support leads to better outcomes — for the person and for the team around them.

This doesn't mean lowering expectations. It means having the clarity, the language, and the culture to respond to a health challenge in a generative way.
Managers don't need to become counselors. They need to know what to say, who to refer to, and that their organization supports them in doing so.

We invite you to reflect:
How does your workplace currently respond when a health challenge affects someone's work? Is the response consistent, regardless of what the health challenge is?

VAMHAR offers free manager training as part of the Recovery Friendly Workplace program. Learn more at vamhar.org/rfw

06/09/2026

Most Vermont workplaces aren't large corporations with dedicated HR departments and robust EAP systems. They're 8-person shops where everyone knows each other. Family-owned businesses where the owner also fixes the coffee machine. Nonprofits running on three staff and a lot of heart. Farms where seasonal workers come back year after year.
That closeness is one of Vermont's greatest strengths. It also means that when someone is struggling, it's personal. The supervisor isn't just a manager, they're someone who knows this employee deeply.

Recovery Friendly Workplace practices aren't just designed for large systems with HR teams and policy departments. They're thoughtfully designed within all kinds of workplaces, including Vermont's.

In fact, the framework specifically supports smaller employers in building what they may already have instinctively — caring relationships — and pairing it with the language, policies, and consistency that turns goodwill into genuine support.
You don't need to be a big organization to do this well. You need intention. And VAMHAR is here to help you build it.

We invite you to reflect:
In a workplace where everyone knows everyone, what does it mean to create real psychological safety, not just good intentions?

Curious about what this looks like for a small Vermont employer? Reach out, we'd love to talk through it with you. vamhar.org/rfw

06/08/2026

Good news from Washington, D.C. ❤️

We are grateful to share that Rep. Becca Balint has cosponsored both the Alternatives to Pain Act and the NOPAIN for Veterans Act, supporting expanded access to non-opioid pain management options.

Recently, VAMHAR's Director of Communications Martina Anderson joined advocates from Voices for Non-Opioid Choices to meet with congressional offices and discuss why expanding pain treatment options matters.

For many Vermonters, pain management and recovery are deeply connected. Access to a range of effective treatment options can help people make informed decisions about their health while reducing barriers to recovery and prevention efforts.

We deeply appreciate Representative Balint and her team for recognizing substance use prevention and treatment as a priority and for supporting policies that give people more choices in their care.

Change happens when we come together - advocates, healthcare professionals, policymakers, families, and community members - to build systems that honor dignity, choice, and well-being.

Thank you to Voices for Non-Opioid Choices for bringing these conversations forward and creating opportunities for advocates to be heard.

Because everyone deserves options. Everyone deserves support. And everyone deserves the chance to heal.

06/08/2026

Many workplaces already offer resources like health insurance benefits or Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). Yet they often go unused.

Why?
Because culture determines whether people trust those supports enough to use them.
Recovery Friendly Workplaces pay attention to:

✨ How managers respond to disclosure
✨ Whether policies are transparent or vague
✨ The unspoken norms around stress, alcohol, and “pushing through”
✨ Whether asking for help feels safe, or risky

We invite you to reflect:
If someone needed support tomorrow, would they know where to turn, AND trust the response?

Ask employees (formally or informally): “Do you feel supported if you need help?” Then listen.

06/05/2026

Let’s clear something up. Recovery Friendly does not mean:
✖ Ignoring expectations
✖ Lowering standards
✖ Becoming an expert in treatment or recovery

It does mean:
✔ Treating substance use as a health condition
✔ Having clear policies and clear support
✔ Reducing stigma so conversations happen earlier
✔ Extending compassion paired with accountability

Just like with other health conditions like cancer or diabetes, managers don’t need all the answers. They need language, consistency, and a culture that encourages people to ask for help.

We invite you to reflect:
Do people in your workplace know what support they can count on, and what’s expected of them?

Review how your workplace talks about health, support, and accountability. What’s clear? What might need strengthening? Need help? We are here to support you through the process.

06/04/2026

Recovery Friendly Workplaces don’t create a new problem - they respond to an existing one.
Substance use and mental health challenges don’t stop at the office door. They show up in attendance, morale, productivity, and turnover - whether we name them or not.
This work isn’t about filling open roles. Although data shows it can certainly help.
It’s about retaining people you have invested in, supporting them through challenges, and creating environments where employees can stay - or return - to work supported.

We invite you to reflect:
When someone struggles in your workplace, is the default response support… or silence?

Start a conversation with leadership or HR this month about what “support” really looks like where you work. Don’t know where to start? Reach out to us!

06/04/2026

We're honored to see VermontBiz highlight an exciting partnership between VAMHAR and the Vermont Department of Labor that will help expand Recovery Friendly Workplaces across Vermont. 🎉

This collaboration reflects something we know to be true: recovery is an asset, not a barrier to employment.

Every day, Vermonters in recovery bring resilience, creativity, dedication, problem-solving skills, and lived experience to their workplaces. When employers create environments where people feel supported, valued, and connected, everyone benefits. Employers strengthen their workforce, employees thrive, and communities grow stronger.

We're grateful to the Vermont Department of Labor for joining us in this commitment and to the growing number of Vermont employers who are leading the way by becoming Recovery Friendly Workplaces.

A special thank you to VermontBiz for helping elevate this important conversation and shine a light on the employers, employees, and communities working together to build a stronger Vermont. 💚

Read the article here:

Submitted by tim on Wed, 06/03/2026 - 13:09 Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL) and the Vermont Association for Mental Health and Addiction Recovery (VAMHAR) have come together to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support the expansion of Recovery Friendly Work...

06/03/2026

So grateful for all our partners, supporters, and collaborators!!!