Behavioral Health & Recovery Services Blog

BHRS Office of Diversity and Equity’s (ODE) Latino Collaborative co-sponsored their 8^th annual Sana Sana de Rana! Cuidate! Hoy Para un Mejor Manana (Take Care of Yourself Today for a Better Tomorrow) event with partners Ayudando Latinos a Sonar (ALAS) on October 16 to celebrate Latino Heritage month. The event centered around family and healing during COVID-19.

This energetic, joyful and informative event was the Latino Collaboratives’s first virtual and all Spanish Sana Sana event! The event reached over 1,300 people (total views a month later) worked to unite our Latinx community and provide ways to obtain resources and achieve emotional health.

We were honored to have Ziomara Ochoa Rodriguez, LMFT, BHRS Deputy Director of Child and Youth Services open our event with a heartfelt welcome to our Latinx community and an invitation to learn about BHRS services.

This was followed by SMC Board of Supervisor President, David Canepa sharing his pride and commitment to supporting our Latinx community. The BHRS Native and Indigenous Peoples Initiative followed with a meaningful land acknowledgement honoring the original caretakers of the land, the Ohlone people. As the event proceeded our community was introduced to numerous community partners that shared their services and tips to maintain wellness.

Our focus on physical, emotional and social health and well-being was bolstered by community members being offered a variety of ways to put a healthy twist on a traditional meal, learn stress management techniques, introducing numerous county resources and a dynamic presentation by Public Health Policy and Planning on the importance of Covid 19 prevention and resources. In addition, we had the pleasure of watching a performance by ALAS’s Ballet Folklorico Tonantzin and Mariachi Media Luna and played a game of virtual Loteria with our community.

We are thankful to our partners and planning committee for supporting this event. It is integral in helping our Latinx community to continue to make healthy changes. Per Each Mind Matters, 1 in 5 Latinos have experienced a mental health challenge. However, Latinos are one of the groups least likely to seek help for mental illness due to reasons which include language fluency, cultural barriers and access to health coverage. Research also shown that Latinx individuals are vulnerable to stress of immigration and acculturation and that the Latino community is considered a high-risk group for depression, anxiety and substance abuse. Working together, we can help people understand that small changes, such as listening to music, talking to a counselor, eating more fruits and vegetables can make a significant difference in their physical and mental health.

Watch the event here.