Small Business Forum Magazine Online June Issue | Page 10

A chat with Mindy Oppenheim

TW: Give me the basics. How long have you been with the hospital and what’s your background?

MO: I’ve been at SFGH for a little over 3 years. I’ve been working with people with people with physical, developmental and psychiatric disabilities for approximately 33 years. I was one of the early adopters in the field of Supported Employment in the early 80’s. Supported Employment is a program that provides support to individuals with severe disabilities to chose, get and keep jobs.

TW: What services does your department provide?

MO: We help people re-enter the workforce. Many of our participants are x-offenders who are chronically homeless and/or are recovering from mental illness. We offer work opportunities at SFGH for people with schizophrenia, bi-polar, depression, personality disorders you name it. We’ve created several “social enterprises” here at the hospital to provide work experience and work adjustment. Our businesses include: “Happy Buns” Hot Dog Cart; “Slice of Life” Catering; Baking Training Program; Clothing Donation Center; Coffee Cart(s) and Book Carts that service the entire hospital; an Office Assistant Training Program and finally a Sensory Modification Blanket Sewing Project. Profits from our businesses are used to hired “peers” as supervisors, enabling us to increase the number of participants in our program.

Once our participants are ready they “graduate” into our Supported Employment Program where our top-notch Job Developers match them with employers in the community.

TW: Once they graduate how long does it take to place them in a job outside of the hospital? Do you have to notify the employer of the client's mental illness?

MO: Matching the right person to the right job in the community sometimes takes several months. Our goal is to establish relationships with area employers early on by conducting a job analysis and getting to know their business, in some cases even before there is a job opening. The better we get to know the businesses and their needs the better job we can do of matching the right person to the job.

TW: That's impressive. I would image you don't work with just any employer that approaches you. What do you look for in a Supported Employment Program employer and how long are your clients in the program? How long before they graduate?

Mindy Oppenheim is the Director of the San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) Vocational Rehabilitation Program in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry. I recently sat down with her to find out more about her work helping people recovering from mental health issues back into the workforce.