The Oregonian Names MHAAO a Top Workplace!

This is an excerpt from an article titled “At Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon, employees feel sense of purpose from having ‘been there, done that’: Top Workplaces 2020,” originally published by Lee Ann Moyer for The Oregonian/OregonLive on September 6, 2020.
See the full story here.

Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon is a winner in The Oregonian/OregonLive's 2020 Top Workplaces competition. Janie Gullickson, the executive director, stands next to part of a mural that reads "In This Together" in the association's office in Northeast Portland. She's wearing a T-shirt with the logo of Peerpocalypse, the association's annual conference.Randy L. Rasmussen/For The Oregonian/OregonLive

Being named as a 2020 Top Workplace, for the second consecutive time and year, comes as the Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon is experiencing incredible growth, both regionally and nationwide.

The Oregonian/OregonLive’s annual competition, now in its ninth edition, recognizes local workplaces based on employee feedback.

The association uses a peer-based model that serves people experiencing mental health and/or addiction challenges. The association’s 32 trained and certified peer support specialists, who identify as having lived the experience of mental health or addiction, walk alongside those seeking assistance on their path to recovery. Peer support specialists assist with a variety of needs, including addiction services, food insecurity and houselessness.

“The foundation of our work is fairly simple: We offer support to individuals seeking recovery from the lens of having ‘been there, done that,’ " said Janie Gullickson, the association’s executive director. “Even though we maybe have navigated our recovery journey longer than those we serve, we respect that they are the experts of their own path.”

Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon is a winner in The Oregonian/OregonLive's 2020 Top Workplaces competition. Grace Jo (left), a peer support specialist, talks with Janie Gullickson, executive director, in the association's mostly-empty Northeast Portland office.Randy L. Rasmussen/For The Oregonian/OregonLive

The association began as a grassroots movement in the 1970s and officially became a non-profit in 2001. Gullickson added that it has expanded significantly since launching the peer support program in 2015.

The association has on-the-ground operations in Portland, but its current team of 45 employees also oversees efforts that reach far beyond the state, such as peer support and guidance to other mental health organizations through their Peerlink National Technical Assistance Center, online trainings of peer support specialists, and an international annual conference called Peerpocalypse for peer support programs and their employees.

While many businesses and organizations are wrestling with the challenges of modified offerings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon demonstrated quick adaptation and flexibility from the start.

“People who have experienced mental health and substance abuse issues in their lives are incredibly resilient, and I think that resilience has really transferred over to services,” said Jessica Carroll, the association’s Peerlink director. “We are a type of service that can go with the flow, and we figure it out, and we get creative because that’s just what we have to do.”

Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon is a winner in The Oregonian/OregonLive's 2020 Top Workplaces competition. Emily Privatsky, a project coordinator, works in the association's office in Northeast Portland while others work from home and in the field.Randy L. Rasmussen/For The Oregonian/OregonLive

Taking the majority of the association’s work online has had some ups and downs, but there have been unexpected advantages.

“Some people have been able to access more services and not experience the challenges of transportation, having to navigate care of children or other family members while going to an appointment, and so on,” said Gullickson, “So in some respects, (the online format) is providing a service to folks that has been needed for a really long time. And then, in another aspect, that human connection, of course, is sorely missed.”

In addition to revamping its delivery model, the association recently received a federal grant for $3.95 million to expand its services, nearly doubling its annual revenue. With the changes brought on by that initiative and the demand for peer support specialist services expanding nationwide, the association aims to hire 18 to 20 people this year.

“Being predominately a white organization, with intention and accountability, as we recruit new staff in the next couple of months, we will be reaching out to communities of color to hire and recruit,” Gullickson said.

Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon is a winner in The Oregonian/OregonLive's 2020 Top Workplaces competition. Nicole Maupin, human resources assistant, works in the association's office in Northeast Portland while others work from home and in the field.Randy L. Rasmussen/For The Oregonian/OregonLive

The association, which is currently 75% staffed by people who identify as white, also incorporates feedback from its diversity, equity and inclusion committee, such enforcing equitable hiring practices and including culturally specific modules in trainings.

“Social justice is one of our core values,” said Gullickson.

Feedback from employees who took the Top Workplaces survey indicates that the new hires will be working alongside a dedicated team that feels more like a family than coworkers. Those who responded to the survey cited autonomy, opportunities for professional development, supportive supervisors, fair compensation, and, above all, a sense of purpose within the community.

“I have grown so much with MHAAO,” said Carroll. “The thing that I can say is we are about our core values; we live them. We really believe people can recover and we are proof of that.”

To that, Gullickson added, “We are the living proof that recovery is real and possible, and community support brings about real change.”