a really good week
Houston's favorite restaurants pitch in with new mental wellness dining and drink event
Some of Houston’s best-known restaurants are taking part in WellWeek, a themed event designed to raise funds and awareness for mental health support for hospitality industry workers.
Running through October 15, the initiative challenged Bayou City restaurants to create zero-proof cocktails and desserts, and donate $1 from the sale of each to the WellWeek fund.
Axelrad, Backstreet Cafe, Blood Bros. BBQ, Caracol, Coltivare, Eight Row Flint, Fat Cat Creamery, Giacomo’s, Hugo’s, Indianola, Lucille’s, and Oporto are just some of the Houston eateries who’ve added items to their menus for this cause.
Diners can stop in at any of these locations and order the WellWeek-themed items, knowing they’re helping the hospitality industry take care of its own. Check out the full list here.
Funds raised from the initiative will be shared with several nonprofit entities, including IHWSH, a woman-led organization that raises awareness about the need for better health in the food and beverage industry; Southern Smoke Foundation, which provides emergency funds for hospitality workers and offers mental health to workers and their families; the Houston Recovery Center, which provides care for individuals affected by substance use; and the Montrose Center, group, family and individual counseling services, regardless of ability to pay, with an expertise in care and support of the LGBTQ community.
“In my career, I have felt at times that my work environment was not supportive of my mental health,” said Tina Marie Brackett, co-chair of this year’s WellWeek event. “Although many of us will say that mental health is important, very few of us know how to prioritize mental well-being - our own and our employees’. We want to shift the conversation from scary statistics to real solutions and practices that support mental health in the workplace.”
WellWeek offers mental health training sessions for restaurant hourly staff and management. Among the topics covered this year are how to help employees and colleagues experiencing mental health crises, how to recognize triggers and signs of anxiety, and resources for mental health care. There are also events for industry workers, including yoga in the park.
“I have lost too many friends and colleagues to depression and substance abuse, all of which intensified during the pandemic,” said Lindsay Rae Burleson, WellWeek 2022 co-chair, and principal creator of the new IHWSH Ambassador program. “This year’s campaign will focus on the programs available to our community and the ways our community is fighting for change. Zero proof is a growing, positive movement for bars and restaurants to embrace. And with worker shortages, it just makes sense to make more efforts to keep the people that you’ve trained healthy, to give them support to stay well.”
