BHRS Spreads Awareness at San Mateo County Fair
Amid ferris wheels and cotton candy at this year’s county fair, sat some of our dedicated BHRS staff, spreading mental health awareness to the San Mateo County community. BHRS staff Sara Arancibia, Seema Janjua, Winnie Chan Wu, Stefan Luesse, Claudia Navarro-Perez, Maata Misinale, Carmen Guerridos, Jocelyn Cerda Garcia and Genesis Ruiz and Dr. Robert Stebbins attended the fair with a booth promoting mental wellness. Their goal was to reduce mental health stigma and encourage fair-goers to seek services at the earliest signs of depression.
Despite the fact that it was well-hidden among the commercial vendors, there was a turnout of almost 300 people at the booth between Saturday, June 9 and Sunday, June 17. Visitors collected brochures and information on suicide prevention, health insurance and social security programs. 195 visitors had unique one-on-one conversations with staff on a variety of topics. Many expressed their gratitude for BHRS advocating for mental health and substance use programs in public. As in previous years, the team also helped a lot of consumers from neighboring counties, like Alameda, San Fransisco and Santa Clara.
The booth saw its heaviest traffic on Senior Day, with 48 consumers stopping by in less than three hours with questions related to Medi-Cal and Medicare billing, making this our most successful fair presence in over four years. The team completed its DHCS AB82 Medi-Cal Outreach & Enrollment grant activities with a truly grand finale.
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