Beyond the Basic: A Renewed Approach to Mental Health and Wellness

Traditional Employee Assistance Programs are operating at a 1980s level of care and seemed to have almost been grandfathered in throughout our industry. Low utilization rates, poor communication, and referrals to average at best rehabs, are just a few of the areas of focus traditional EAP’s are falling short. Join SMOHIT with Aldo Zambetti, Ben Cort, and Chris Carlough as they discuss mental health and wellness care and how new approaches in employee assistance programs are providing the sheet metal industry the quality care and resources they so desperately need.

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Speakers:

 

Chris Carlough
SMART MAP/SMOHIT

Chris Carlough is a tireless educator and advocate for union members and their families struggling with substance use disorder, suicidal ideations, and other mental health issues.  Through SMART MAP training program, SMOHIT is building a North American network of trained compassionate union members and mental health professionals who offer support, guidance and referrals for union members and their families struggling with a variety of mental health and chemical dependency issues.

 

Aldo Zambetti
Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT)

Aldo Zambetti started in sheet metal in 1980 and spent 20 years at the same company where his father worked his entire 36-year career. Of Zambetti’s 41-year career, he worked in the field for 20 years, 16 years as a full-time apprentice instructor and training coordinator for Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 in Philadelphia, his home local.

In 2014, he accepted a position as a field staff representative with the International Training Institute (iTi), the educational arm of the unionized sheet metal industry, where he oversaw 35 training centers in the northeast United States. In addition to being the in-house authority on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), he also is an OSHA master trainer.

Now, as the Administrator of the Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT), his focus is on enhancing and maintaining programs that SMOHIT offers. He focuses on pulling together all the threads of job site safety: physical safety, illness prevention, and mental safety.

Zambetti began his current position by spending significant time on SMOHIT’s suicide prevention measures and integrating those efforts into the SMART Member Assistance Program (MAP). He’s also working on the SMOHIT website to ensure necessary resources are readily available to members.

 

Ben Cort
Cort Consulting

Sober since June 15, 1996, Ben has been a part of the recovery movement in almost every way imaginable; from a recipient to a provider to a spokesperson. He joined the field professionally in 2007 working inside of nonprofits, treatment programs and consulting to athletics and organized labor.

Highlighted in his book, Weed, Inc.: The Truth About the Pot Lobby, THC, and the Commercial Marijuana Industry, and his TED talk “Surprising Truths about Legalizing Cannabis,” Ben has remained active in the discussion around marijuana, assisting several states efforts to hold back Big Marijuana and always advocating for recovery.

His reputation as being pro-logic and recovery oriented rather than anti anything, and his widely adopted curriculum on ethical treatment and practices has garnered national recognition. He is utilized by the likes of NFL, and NCAA programs to determine appropriate treatment for their athletes, coaches and their families as well as develop recovery oriented policies.

Ben transitioned from consultant to CEO of Foundry Steamboat in 2019, is a board member for NALGAP (National Association of Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Transgender treatment providers and their allies), a Board member at SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) and faculty at numerous institutes. In 2023 Ben launched Union EAP, providing mental health and SUD services to union members nationwide.