"No Shame": Cal Beyer of SAFE Project on Empathy and Destigmatizing Addiction, Recovery, Mental Health at Work

"People don't ask for help because a company hangs up a poster. They ask for help because someone else had the courage to go first." – Cal BeyerContent Note: This episode includes candid conversations about addiction, mental health, substance use, overdose, and suicide. If these topics are difficult for you, please take care while listening.If you've been listening this season, you know we've spent a lot of time talking about trust.Trust between carriers and policyholders. Trust between adjusters and contractors. Trust in technology. Trust in leadership.This episode asks a different question. How do we build enough trust that someone who's struggling actually asks for help?Our guest is Cal Beyer, a longtime insurance and risk management leader who now serves as Senior Director of SAFE Workplaces at SAFE Project, a national nonprofit dedicated to overcoming the addiction and mental health epidemic. He was also one of Producer Brett's first mentors in the insurance industry and quickly has become a dear friend of the show.Cal introduces us to what he calls the Three V's of leadership: Visible. Vocal. Vulnerable.When leaders make mental health visible, speak openly about it, and have the courage to share their own stories, something remarkable happens. Trust grows. Conversations begin. People stop carrying everything by themselves. And eventually, as Cal explains, a fourth V emerges: Vertical. A culture where compassion spreads from one person to the next until helping each other simply becomes part of who you are.We also talk about burnout, stigma, psychological safety, recovery, and why the strongest leaders aren't the ones who pretend to have all the answers. They're the ones willing to start the conversation.Whether you work in claims, underwriting, risk management, or anywhere else in insurance, this is one of those conversations that extends far beyond our industry.Resources from Cal Beyer and SAFE Project:• SAFE Project: https://www.safeproject.us• #NoShame Pledge: https://www.safeproject.us/noshame/#pledge• Treatment, Family Support & Recovery Locator: https://safelocator.org/en/help-selection• Prevention Perspectives Webinars: https://www.safeproject.us/prevention/#Prevention-Webinars• Naloxone Training Resources: https://www.safeproject.us/training/• Goldfinch Health: https://goldfinchhealth.com/• 10 Questions to Ask Your Surgeon: https://goldfinchhealth.com/10-questions-surgery/• Billion Pill Pledge: https://billionpillpledge.com/