Workplace Mental Health Champion Receives National Recognition

Our Corporate Services Coordinator, Sarah Cassidy, has been recognized as a finalist in the inaugural Charity Village Conference & Awards Ceremony. You can read her nomination and a snapshot of her contributions to CLPS workplace mental health below:

Sarah Cassidy is a champion of mental health in our workplace. She participated in McMaster’s Beyond Silence training and quickly became one of the program’s Peer Educators. Sarah safeguards psychological safety at work through every aspect of her role, including policy writing; the most recent example is a section in our IPAC dedicated to the stress of COVID, including a 15-minute walkthrough video on how to access free counselling services. Sarah is a pioneer in our agency, always testing new ways to get information out. She started an #employeewellness message board for conversations about mental health, resources, and events. Sarah ran a well-researched “virtual corkboard” of mental health resources; the feedback on the virtual corkboard was that the software was challenging, and in true resilient spirit Sarah tested a number of digital platforms before deciding to build a site from scratch. Sarah also shares a “Virtue of the Week” with thoughtful prompts to affirm our strengths. In her immediate team, Sarah created and chairs bi-weekly “watercooler chats:” mental health checkpoints also intended to build team cohesion and fight the isolation that can arise from hybrid work. Sarah creates safe places to discuss mental health at work through all these different channels. She is the first to raise current issues and often the loudest voice pushing for change—whether it be designing gender-inclusive washroom signs, instituting a practice of agency-wide shout-outs, or gathering Indigenous Elders to teach our workplace cultural diversity, Sarah is the champion behind it all.

Our entire organization has felt the astounding impact of Sarah’s contributions to workplace mental health, and we are so grateful to have such a compassionate and thoughtful person to guide us through all seasons of changes and challenges.

Thank you and congratulations, Sarah! Well-deserved.