This platform is training employees to be mental health responders

• Key Insight: Discover how peer-centered Mental Health First Responder training closes workplace support gaps.  
• What's at Stake: Unaddressed employee mental health risks billions in absenteeism and presenteeism costs.    
• Supporting Data: 59% of employers offer EAPs; over half of employees have never used them.  
  Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

When Justin Goodman decided to create an effective and accessible pathway to mental health support, he pulled from his own experience. 

In college, Goodman was struggling with addiction and worsening mental health. In the middle of attempting to take his own life, a few of his closest friends caught him and managed to intervene before it was too late. Not only did those people save his life that day, Goodman said, the way in which they handled it and supported him afterward set him up for long-term success.   

"One of those people had education because his brother had struggled with addiction in the past," Goodman said. "He understood what needed to be communicated to me, staged the intervention, held me accountable, established the boundaries and did so in a way that was still loving and authentic."

Goodman went on to found Project 55, a non-profit mental health education initiative meant to improve awareness, understanding and early support for mental health challenges — especially in workplaces. It offers free online Mental Health First Responder training and resources that teach employees how to recognize signs of mental distress, communicate compassionately and connect individuals to appropriate help, while reducing the stigma around mental health struggles.

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The goal, according to Goodman, is to address the rapidly widening gap in mental health support that continues to persist in workplaces.  

"Right now, organizations have absenteeism and presenteeism impacting them to the billions of dollars every year," Goodman said. "And the people who are going to help stem that tide are already a part of their workforce." 

Current solutions have low engagement

A large driver of that disconnect is that organizations' existing mental health solutions aren't reaching employees in need. Fifty-nine percent of employers report offering an employee assistance program (EAP), according to recent data from Prudential Financial, including things like in-person or virtual counseling, work-life services, financial and legal services, wellness initiatives, managerial support and referral services. However, the data showed that more than half of polled employees have never tried to use their available program. Among those employees, 31% had a need for assistance, but still did not use the benefits provided to them. 

Another challenge is long wait times for mental health appointments, according to Goodman, which can reduce the chance of a good outcome. 

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"In most cases, [employees who do use their EAP] are waiting anywhere from six to nine weeks to talk to a therapist, " Goodman said. "But when you're in crisis, you don't have that time."

Awareness and understanding saves lives

Project 55's program begins by helping employees understand the difference between mental health and mental illness, and emphasizes self-care as a foundational step. It then introduces the most common diagnosable mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety, not so that employees can diagnose their colleagues, but so they know how symptoms may appear and understand which professionals are best equipped to help. 

From there, learners are guided through the platform's E.A.G.E.R framework: engage, actively listen, give support, empower and refer others to appropriate resources. The training includes 14 optional modules with practical scripts, tools and lifelong access to resources that can be shared as needed. 

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"We're not building up full-blown lay counselors," Goodman said. "We're building people equipped enough to get those in need to either resources or next steps that they can take, and doing it free of cost."

Already, the program has seen a number of success stories where users were able to intervene in a moment of crisis. Goodman shared a recent instance where a woman received a phone call from a friend from the side of a bridge. Thanks to her training with Project 55, she was able to remember to dial 988, which serves as a suicide and crisis management hotline, and merged the call with her friend's. Together they were able to talk the person in crisis off the ledge and connect them with the right follow-up resources.  

Instances like that, where emergency services need to get involved right away, are rare, Goodman said. More often than not it's that someone's in pain, they've never been to a therapist and don't have the words to express the help they need. That's where Project 55 aims to do the most work. 

"We're teaching employees how to talk about it with the appropriate language and how to get the specifics right, either from themselves or from a colleague," he said. "The more detail they can provide or learn, the less hypothetical risk everyone is in."

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Mental health support keeps employees healthy and at work

There is also a tangible connection between effective mental health support and retention. In an increasingly hybrid workforce, fostering connection and building trust with managers and leadership can be difficult, which makes reaching out for help a challenge. Knowing that their colleagues have received effective training can encourage people to speak up and seek the support they need, Goodman explained. The result is a tight-knight community that remains engaged and productive. 

There are so many reasons someone could be struggling at work, Goodman said. Whether it's death, divorce, financial crisis, caring for an elderly family member or suffering from depression or anxiety, equipping every single employee with education can only benefit the organization as a whole.

"By being proactive about mental health support, you're saving lives," Goodman said. "The sooner you can get people out of their own heads and give them someone to talk to, you're going to get them back doing what they're supposed to and want to be doing."