The Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program was featured in a nonprofit TV channel segment “Mental Health Matters: In the Workplace,” on how states and employers support their workers dealing with mental illness.
The segment on Mental Health Channel, an online network of free documentary-style programming about mental health topics, looks at legislative and employer-based policies aimed at supporting employees.
Close to halfway through the 7.5-minute video, Austin attorney Erica Grigg is seen driving down city streets and heard talking about past struggles with depression and alcoholism.
Many lawyers who experience similar issues—studies have more than 20 percent of attorneys suffer from substance abuse—are afraid to ask for help, Grigg says in the video, for fear of losing their jobs or being seen as “crazy and incapable.”
Grigg, who now volunteers with TLAP to help other attorneys, mentions the Sheeran-Crowley Memorial Trust, which was created in 1995 and provides financial help to Texas attorneys, judges, and law students who need treatment for substance abuse, depression, and other mental health issues.
“I am so proud of Texas for being a pioneer in something that is so near and dear to my heart—mental illness,” Grigg says in the video. “It’s a wonderful, beautiful thing.”
Lawyers, judges, and law students needing help can call TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 for confidential support 24/7.
Watch the complete video, learn more about TLAP, and donate to the Sheeran-Crowley Memorial Trust.
The “Mental Health Matters” segments are produced through a partnership of the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, the Texas Tribune, and KLRU, the state’s largest PBS content provider.