Mission for the Mind: Advancing Mental Health Solutions
Our commitment to addressing the broader challenges related to mental health
In August 2017, Leidos launched an initiative to help do our part in taking action against the opioid epidemic. At the time, the magnitude of the crisis was just hitting headlines. As a team, we enacted many initiatives to tackle the issue — in our business and in our communities. We also challenged other companies to do the same. Over time, however, our efforts have organically grown to address not just opioid addiction but the broader challenges and underlying contributors to addiction associated with mental health and well-being.
At Leidos, we are devoted to identifying and solving some of the world's toughest problems. From driving health research to protecting soldiers in war zones to shaping environmental conservation plans; our minds help develop solutions that improve our world. This mission-critical work, often aimed at the most complex challenges, can only be done with the full capacity of our minds. We must proactively protect our minds and further commit to their health and well-being. Therein lies our opportunity. Together, we can be a catalyst for change.
As we near the end of Mental Health Awareness Month, I want to double down on the promise for action I made in 2017 and extend my commitment to helping address the broader challenges related to mental health. Going forward, you will see new initiatives roll out under this umbrella.
We will focus on several areas for our initiatives, including:
- Anti-opioids and substance use disorder prevention
- Anxiety, depression, and COVID-19-related impacts
- Anti-suicide efforts, especially related to veterans and the emerging vulnerable population of healthcare workers
Internally we will roll out a free app providing a diverse range of meditations, exercises, and programs that can be used to foster mental well-being for everyone at Leidos. Through our continued focus on our employees and our partnerships with community organizations, professional sports teams, and those at health and defense agencies, we will work to pull together critical players to elevate the conversation on mental health. We will also continue our important work to develop new solutions in the communities in which we live and work with the goal of improving the mental health of this generation and generations to come.
By driving bold conversations that break the stigma around mental health and by advancing research, I believe we can contribute to a world where the mind is better understood, developed, and protected.
Roger A. Krone
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
"Looking after our health and that of others isn't simply the treatment of an ailment or illness. It's a holistic mix of physical well-being, mental health, financial stability, food security, access to adequate employment and safe housing. Our collective focus must be on efforts to address addiction and overall mental health that will be critical to saving lives and helping improve the overall well-being of our communities.
"Ending this crisis will require our nation’s leaders to act, mobilizing resources and responding quickly to initiate employee education, volunteerism and non-profit partnerships. Together, we can elevate the conversation around mental health and well-being."
Liz Porter, President Health Group
Protecting our People
As an employer of more than 40,000 people across the U.S. and beyond, Leidos has a critical role to play both in reducing the stigma around mental health and addiction and increasing accessibility of resources. Mental health and well-being are at the center of our Mission for the Mind Program. Our Build a Better You initiative helps employees achieve their personal wellness goals. The program’s offerings include health and wellness challenges with opportunities to earn points toward rewards, free premium access to the Headspace app, regular wellness education sessions, expansions to our Employee Assistance Program, additional paid time off and expanded optional benefit offerings. We are committed to making certain everyone at Leidos has the access to support and resources they need to build and maintain the best version of themselves.
Starting in July 2018, Leidos enrolled in the AOM program offered by Express Scripts (ESI, pharmacy benefit management organization). The 2020 Leidos AOM Annual Report showed a decrease of 57% in average day supply per claim for first time short-acting opioids with 70% of patients redirected to a safer, short-acting opioid, and the average day’s supply per claim was reduced from 18-day to 8-days when compared to the prior year. These measures are all critical in reducing the likelihood that a Leidos employee or a family member will develop an opioid use disorder.
Engaging our Community
In 2017, Leidos employee John Hindman challenged our CEO, Roger Krone, to do more to address the growing opioid epidemic after his son, Sean, lost his life to an overdose. Directly as a result of hearing John's story and many like it within Leidos, Roger established the CEO Pledge. Organizations taking the pledge commit their time, talent and resources to help end the opioid addiction crisis through better education, support and access to services that are desperately needed. Today, the Leidos CEO Pledge has over 100 signatories and an expanded mandate -- one that will continue to address opioid addiction while also tackling broader mental health challenges of anxiety, depression and suicide. Leidos participates in regional panels as well as engages in various activities with partners including Monumental Sports & Entertainment, The Baltimore Ravens, The U.S. Department of State, and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and its 360 Strategy Initiative and Operation Engage. The company continues to provide significant support to non-profit organizations in this area each year, having already contributed millions of dollars to substance misuse and mental health charitable efforts. We have been privileged to support many organizations through our CEO Pledge, including the following:
- Chris Atwood Foundation (CAF): From 2018 to 2020, Leidos provided support to CAF by helping to raise critical funds and support naloxone training and distribution events. Most recently, in 2021, Leidos joined the Virginia Department of Health to support CAF’s Revive to Thrive mobile unit as part of a harm-reduction program benefitting Northern Virginia.
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Sharing Solutions: Designed to highlight workforce resources and innovative solutions to combatting the opioid crisis nationwide. Leidos has been actively engaged in this national initiative since 2019.
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP): As part of an ongoing commitment to mental health and well-being, Leidos sponsored and participated in numerous Out of Darkness Suicide Prevention Virtual Experiences hosted by (AFSP), including in the Washington, D.C. metro region, North Alabama and San Diego, CA. Team Leidos efforts helped raise critical funds and awareness in support of those affected by suicide.
- Baltimore Ravens Partnership: Starting in 2020, the Ravens-Leidos “Tackling Opioid Addiction” campaign distributed nearly 70,000 drug disposal packets to local non-profits and is now expanding to benefit Oxford House, a non-profit providing drug-free housing for individuals on their recovery journey.
- Milken Institute Center for Public Health: Formed in late 2020 (and formally announced in May, 2021), the CPH-Leidos relationship is further promoting the Leidos CEO Pledge End Addiction and is expanding to address mental health concerns more broadly. Core to the new relationship is a Collaborative Action Group (CAG), created to reach more employees and communities, especially in light of how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated substance use and harmed mental health and well-being globally.
- The Women's Center: Leidos is a corporate sponsor of The Women’s Center, which provides affordable mental health care support and education in the Virginia and Washington, DC, area. In 2020, Roger Krone was awarded the Mental Health Community Service award for his advocacy in mental health access.
- Everfi: Leidos partnered with EVERFI to provide a Mental Wellness online course to all middle schools and high schools in the greater Morgantown area of West Virginia, at no cost to the schools. Leidos supports this first-of-its-kind digital learning course to destigmatize the topic of mental health, increase student resilience, and empower students to access the skills and resources they need to support their emotional well-being.
- Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA): Leidos has had a multi-faceted partnership with CADCA since 2017, with the collaboration focused on supporting CADCA’s mission to build drug-free communities. The scope of the partnership includes:
- Leidos Youth Leadership Training – A three-day youth leadership training in Washington, D.C. for approximately 100 youths;
- Community Awareness Safe Disposal Events – CADCA and Leidos coordinate periodically on community awareness safe disposal events to coincide with DEA’s National Take Back Days;
- Drug-Free Campaign Awards Dinner – Leidos supports CADCA’s annual Drug-Free Kids Campaign Awards Dinner helping to raise critical operational fund.
Customer Missions
Our commitment to mental health and well-being in the workplace also extends to the important work for our customers in federal and defense health agencies. For nearly four decades, Leidos has worked with the U.S. military to support improved performance, resilience and wellness among our service members. We provide military personnel and their families with preventive and treatment services to guard not only their physical, but also their behavioral health. Through the Military and Family Life Counseling Program, for example, we provide military personnel and their families with non-medical counseling services to identify and alleviate military life stresses before they rise to harmful levels.
