Cheers to well-being: New program providing free mental health services for craft beverage workers.

Brewing beer can be a tough business.

Devon Sanchez knows all about the physical and emotional demands it takes to produce quality drinks.

“It’s long hours, sometimes 60 to 80 hours a week,” he said.

Sanchez owns and operates Desert Beer Company in Palm Desert. He says the pressure to produce perfect pints can sometimes overflow into stress and anxiety.

“You do the best you can to cope with it, take your time with everything,” he said. “I try to sit down and actually go through and line out everything I need to do. But a lot of times that can get away from you.”

Now a non-profit is teaming up with the Betty Ford Center and providing mental health services to craft beverage employees and their families for free.

“In the craft beer industry, particularly let’s say hospitality, food and beverage, they’re tied at the top with construction and the entertainment industry for most usage of drugs and alcohol,” said John Sakacs, outreach manager with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

Sakacs and his team are working with Infinite Ingredient to promote a new workplace wellbeing portal that will be available to the tens of thousands of craft beverage workers across the country.

“Recovery is good for business, it makes dollars and sense,” Sakacs said. “It creates better employees. It creates a healthier work environment. It’s the solution.”

Back at his brewery, Sanchez is putting this program on display so his staff can tap into these resources.

“There’s lots of information regarding anything they need,” he said. “Anything from substance use and abuse and down to suicidal thoughts.”

For more information about this program, visit www.hazeldenbettyford.org.

As for Desert Beer Company, they’re located off the Washington St. exit near Interstate 10 and will be opening a second location in the Coachella Valley soon.

This story was written and reported by Kai Beech.