Food
Pops program breaks down mental illness stigma and promotes job experience
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For a six-month season, Chrysalis Pops employees sell popsicles out of the Icicle Tricycle—a tricycle cooler—at local farmer’s markets and community events alongside the program’s slogan: “Pops with a purpose.”
Chrysalis Pops is a project from Chrysalis, Inc., a nonprofit organization that supports employment for individuals dealing with mental health struggles. Chrysalis Pops takes the organization’s mission one step further by actually offering employment opportunities, providing competitive wages and teaching employees crucial career skills. At the core of the Chrysalis Pops program is its mission to weaken the stigma around mental illness. Pops is a vehicle for integrating individuals with mental illnesses into the community’s workforce, lessening the stigma by putting a face to mental health struggles. The “Pops with a purpose” slogan often prompts a conversation, Chrysalis Executive Director Dani Rischall said.