Results In: Two Heads Now Better Than One

February 25, 2008

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Silos are what happens when an organization becomes so large and complex that its various working parts stop talking to each other By now, most people are familiar with the problem. Some are even stepping up to do something about it.

"A significant number of our customers have mental health issues, or some combination of mental and physical disability," says Peg Evans-Brown of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), describing the origins of the cross-systems training Creating a Resilient and Stable Future: Collaboration for Employment Outcomes [ Portable Document Format 29KB].

The game plan she developed to bridge that gap is simple, and it's working.

On A Mission

"There's a recovery movement on, and employment is a piece of that," says Evans-Brown. "It's not necessarily first and foremost, but from a vocational rehabilitation point of view we see work as being very healing and therapeutic."

Frank Jose of the Mental Health Division (MHD), a collaborating partner with Evans-Brown on this training, couldn't agree more. "Employment is one of the hallmarks of recovery," he says. "It's one of the most important parts of it. Employment gives recovering persons more purpose in their life, it makes them a part of a community, and it broadens their identity from one of mental illness to one defined by their career or profession."

It Starts By Getting Together

The cross-system training is designed to enlighten people from vocational rehabilitation and their mental health partners on the strengths and needs of each other, with a goal of streamlining the process of delivering employment services. Both want to help mental-health services consumers achieve recovery and both see employment as a key piece of it. Beyond that, however, they live and work in different worlds – and in buildings that are miles apart.

"The evaluations have shown us that this is a welcomed opportunity to get to know each other again," says Evans-Brown. "Some relationships have been strong and some have dissipated, depending on the locale, depending on the RSN [Regional Support Network], depending on the focus of employment within each RSN or within each agency, really. It's quite variable, we've found. The relationship building has been the one remarkable thing that we're starting to see change."

Making Things Happen

When people start working together the results can be amazing. Institutional barriers melt away as people listen to one another and find the common thread that unites them, whether it's problems they both face or goals they share equally. On a subtle level, they find ways to start using a language they both understand.

"We talk about common issues, things that have worked, where we maybe need to make systemic changes, and where we can make changes on the local level," says Evans-Brown. "It's really – of course – about communication, and relationships."

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