Author Archives: Doris Estremera

Mark Your Calendars and Get Involved in Suicide Prevention Awareness

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September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, September 5 – 11 is National Suicide Prevention Week , and September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. You can get involved, here’s how:

The San Mateo County Suicide Prevention Committee (SPC) is planning community events, trainings and a communication campaigns.  The SPC will partner with other groups to conduct an Older Adult Suicide Prevention 101 training, provide suicide prevention psychoeducation in local schools and host communication campaign that includes the press, radio and social media.

The SPC is a group of community partners that come together to prevent suicide through information sharing, collaborative projects and inter-agency partnerships. The SPC has dedicated to work on the following 2016 priorities:

  1. Culturally specific suicide prevention education to reduce stigma
  2. Inform older adult service providers about depression screening tools
  3. Develop suicide prevention school protocol for secondary schools

To get involved with the above priorities and projects, you can join the bimonthly SPC meetings which take place:

Fourth Wednesday of the even months
(e.g. February, April, June, August, October, December)
1:30-3:00pm
San Mateo County Transit District – Gallagher Conference Room
1250 San Carlos Ave, San Carlos CA 94070

You can also plan activities and events in your community or organization by using the “Suicide Prevention Week Toolkit 2016: Know the Signs. Find the Words. Reach Out” created by Each Mind Matters (California’s mental health movement funded by the voter-approved Mental Health Services Act (Prop. 63)).

To receive above updates or more information, contact Sylvia Leung (sleung@smcgov.org or 650-578-7165. You can also learn more about suicide prevention resources at www.smchealth.org/bhrs/SuicidePrevention.

 

 

Mental Wellness Screening event for Chinese seniors a success

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imageOn July 26th 2016 the Chinese Health Initiative (CHI), of the Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE), coordinated a free Mental Wellness Screening event for 25 seniors of Self Help for the Elderly, a senior center dedicated to provide a place and resources of monolingual Chinese residents of San Mateo County.

ODE’s Chinese Outreach Worker, along with CHI members, Chinese-speaking community volunteers, and BHRS staff and clinicians, organized the event.  Services included screening monolingual seniors for depression, educating them on their results and referring them to appropriate care, if needed.  Service agencies from throughout San Mateo County also attended to promote behavioral health resources available to the community.

Chinese seniors who participated in the event provided very grateful responses to this event in spite of the strong stigma ingrained within traditional Chinese culture. CHI is very appreciative of the opportunity to work closely with Self Help for the Elderly and looks forward to future partnerships.

Cultural Stipend Internship Program Projects are a Wrap!

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The 2015-16 Cultural Stipend Internship Program (CSIP) Awardees have completed and presented their cultural humility related projects to clinic sites, Health Equity Initiatives (HEI), and community groups. 15 awardees spent the past academic year participating in one of nine HEIs, and coordinating a year-long project, in addition to their regular duties as clinical interns.

CSIP provides a stipend of $5,000 awarded annually to up to 20 interns. Awardees are selected based on their expressed interest in and commitment to cultural awareness and social justice in both community and clinical settings; personal identification with marginalized communities; and/or lived experience with behavioral health conditions. Priority is given to bilingual and/or bi-cultural applicants whose cultural background and experience is similar to underserved communities in San Mateo County. Once selected, awardees are then matched with an HEI and tasked with conducting a project that helps BHRS become more culturally sensitive on a systemic level, and more accessible to marginalized communities.

millhs_022516This year’s projects consisted of 2 Clinical Trainings, 4 Community Events, 4 Research Projects, 2 Communication Campaigns, and 1 Research Paper. All projects are posted on the CSIP webpage. They are posted with the intention of being utilized, duplicated and institutionalized by BHRS staff and partner agencies. Please feel free to share the ways in which you are using them. If you have any questions, contact Kim Westrick (kwestrick@smcgov.org).

CSIP is truly a collaborative effort between interns, supervisors, Health Equity Initiative co-chairs and members, the Office of Diversity and BHRS staff.  Thank you to all of those who continue to dedicate their time and energy to making these projects a success and providing the intern’s an invaluable experiences and opportunity to make a difference.Predair Opening Slide Image

CSIP applications for 2016-2017 are currently being reviewed by the committee and awardees will be announced in August, 2016.

May Mental Health Awareness Month Kick Off

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May Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM) Kick Off Event was a huge success with over 100 people in attendance. The Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE), along with other organizations serving San Mateo County,  led the planning of this event and many have organized a variety of events throughout the month of May.  The “Be the One” slogan is this year’s MHAM theme and the primary goal is to raise awareness and reduce stigma against individuals with mental health or substance use conditions and learn how to be the one to help.

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This year’s Kick Off event consisted of resource tables, a “Be the One” photo booth, art display, community artwork and a digital storytelling panel.  Individuals with lived experience with mental health and/or substance abuse conditions shared their stories through a short video they created that included any combination of video, sound, music, animation, photographs, and other images of their choosing.  Digital stories are an effective means of shedding light on important social issues including stigma and empowering individuals, as they share their personal journey.

Following is a list with links to view the digital stories that were screened in MHAM_KickOff_Image#2this year’s kick off event:

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Overall, the the kick off event was a humbling and inspiring experience as participants had the opportunity to listen to speakers who shared their personal stories with behavioral health conditions and also offer their voice through community artwork and their pledges to reduce stigma at the  Be the One photobooth.

ODE thanks all the organizations and planning committee members for the work they put into organizing a very successful Kick Off event, and the events throughout the month of May, as well as all the community members and providers who came out in support!

Written by: Martha Gonzalez

 

Community Race Relations Dialogue Series

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The Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center (PCRC) African American Advisory Committee has been hosting a series of dialogues around the topic of race relations and it’s impact on African Americans in San Mateo County.

The intent of the dialogue series is to provide a safe space for the African American community to share individual experiences, gain a deeper understanding of those experiences and commit to collective action for improving race relations.

The African American Community Initiative of the Office of Diversity and Equity is partnering with PCRC on two of the dialogues to engage behavioral health service providers and the community at large on the impact of their experiences on mental health outcomes.

The next dialogue is open specifically to African American community members. Please come out, bring your friends and family and/or invite your networks. Don’t miss the opportunity to share your story and make a difference!

Community Race Relations Dialogue – Flyer
Thursday, May 26th / 6-8:30 pm
Silicon Valley Community Foundation Center
1300 S El Camino Real #100,
San Mateo, CA 94402

Follow this link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/community-race-relations-dialogue-series-community-residents-in-the-peninsula-area-tickets-21686794787

 

May 10 is Asian Pacific American Mental Health Day

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With May being recognized as National Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, the State of California, the City & County of San Francisco, and the City of Austin have established May 10 as Asian Pacific American Mental Health Day. This recognition highlights the importance of raising awareness about mental health and promoting mental wellness in the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

Executive Director of the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA) emphasized the key relationship between both recognitions being in May and stated, “Mental Health is also finding the joy in embracing our cultural heritage, of being proud of who we are, and celebrating our differences and the things that make us unique.  It is recognizing that we all have something to offer regardless of our cultural heritage, languages spoken, our place of birth, our sexual orientation, social economic status or religious belief.”

You can get involved in promoting mental wellness in the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in San Mateo County by joining one or more of the below Health Equity Initiatives from the Office of Diversity and Equity of the San Mateo County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services:

Chinese Health Initiative
Last Thursday of the Month, 3:00–4:30pm
2000 Alameda de las Pulgas, Room 201 in San Mateo
Contacts: Steve Sust (susts@stanford.edu) and Sylvia Leung (sleung@smcgov.org)

Filipino Mental Health Initiative
3rd Thursday of the Month, 3:30-5:00pm
Pilipino Bayanihan Resource Center
2121 Junipero Serra Blvd in Daly City
Contacts: Eugene Canotal (ecanotal@smcgov.org) and Jennifer Jimenez Wong (jensjimenez@gmail.com)

Pacific Islander Initiative
1st Tuesday of the Month, 6:00-7:30pm
Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center
1660 S Amphlett Blvd Suite 219 in San Mateo
Contacts: Juliet Vimahi (jvimahi@pcrcweb.org) and Seini Mateialona (smateialona@pcrcweb.org)

White House Mental Health Twitter Chat

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The White House Asian American Pacific Islander E3! Ambassadors partnered with Boston University School of Public Health and Students for Quality Health Care to host a Mental Health Twitter Chat. The purpose of this Twitter conversation is to:

  1. Highlight the experiences of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and their views surrounding mental health and well-being; and
  2. Share resources from non-profit and federal organizations that may help aid those very students in promoting health and wellness.

Using hashtag #E3MentalHealth, various federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, professionals and students were welcomed to join the conversation about mental health in the AAPI community. There was a lot of great information and resources shared in regards with mental health issues in the AAPI community. Here are some sample tweets:

  • Bryan Dosono (or @bdosono) tweeted:
    • “@BU_E3 A2: #AAPI families are reluctant to seek care because cultural norms stigmatize #MentalHealth as taboo. #E3MentalHealth” and
    • “@BU_E3 A3: Migrants face linguistic challenges to mental health care. #E3MentalHealth http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24375384.”
  • SAMHSA (@samhsagov) replied:
    • “@bdosono @BU_E3 Yes! Also, cultural background&language can influence how a provider responds to a person w/ symptoms of a mental illness.”
  • National Council of Asian Pacific American ‏(@NCAPA) tweeted:

To read the original thread of Tweets, visit https://twitter.com/hashtag/e3mentalhealth.To learn more about the White House Asian American Pacific Islander E3! Ambassadors, visit http://sites.ed.gov/aapi/e3.

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Public Comment Period Now Open

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The Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Annual Update FY 2015-2016 has been updated to include three new Innovation Project plans for approval.

The Mental Health Substance Abuse and Recovery Commission (MHSARC) opened a 30-day public comment period on March 2, 2016 for review of the MHSA Annual Update and the three new Innovation Project plans which include:

  • Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) program expansion to adults
  • Health Ambassador Program for Youth (HAP-Y)
  • LGBTQ Behavioral Health Coordinated Services Center

A public hearing is scheduled to close the public comment period on Wednesday, April 6, 2016. MHSARC meeting time and location below:

MHSARC Meeting
3pm-5pm
225 37th Ave., Room 100
San Mateo, CA 94403

To view the updated MHSA Annual Update and Innovation Project Plans and for instructions on providing Public Comment, please visit http://www.smchealth.org/bhrs/mhsa.

Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Steering Committee Meeting

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The Mental Health Services Act (MHSA)* Steering Committee meets twice a year during implementation of the MHSA Three-Year Plan.  Our next meeting is scheduled, see details below!

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MHSA Steering Committee
Tuesday, March 15, 2016 / 3:00 – 5:00 PM
Redwood Shores Library, Community Room, 399 Marine Pkwy, Redwood City, CA 94065

Agenda items include: updates on MHSA Innovation projects and the new Prevention and Early Intervention guidelines; and providing input on a new MHSA grievance process and a steering committee membership process.

  • Open to the public
  • Stipends available are for clients/consumers participating in this meeting
  • Language interpretation and childcare are available, please contact Doris Estremera at (650)573-2889 or destremera@smcgov.org to reserve these services
  • Light refreshments will be provided

*The MHSA imposes a 1% tax on California personal income in excess of $1 million. The MHSA Steering Committee has the important role of making recommendations to the planning and services funded by MHSA in San Mateo County.  For more information  on MHSA in San Mateo County, please visit http://www.smchealth.org/bhrs/mhsa

 

Happy Lunar New Year (新年快樂)

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The Chinese Health Initiative (CHI) would like to wish everyone a very happy Lunar New Year!

This year Lunar New Year is celebrated on Monday, February 8, 2016. Traditionally, it’s a time for family gatherings, clean houses, and distribution of good fortune, happiness, and longevity.  While it’s a time of happiness for many individuals, others in the Chinese community may not welcome the Year of the Monkey as much as because of unresolved internal and external battles.

Mental health issues in the Chinese community, are often silenced and left untreated. CHI works hard to provide support, such as hosting parent presentations and family support groups. Participants are motivated to revitalize unity and a collective voice in the community. A participant shared in his digital storytelling with CHI that “[a] house divided will not stand; [we need to] create one that stands.” Another participant of Office of Diversity and Equity’s photovoice project added that individuals need “the help and counsel of others to unlock the knot in the heart so that it is possible to walk out of the darkness of shadow towards brightness.”

With this, we invite everyone to not only welcome the Lunar New Year, but to also to join our collective efforts to sustain a stronger community.

For more information about San Mateo County’s Chinese Health Initiative, please visit http://smchealth.org/bhrs/ode/chi.

For more information about Chinese Health Initiative’s Family Support Group, hosted by BHRS clinicians, please visit http://smchealth.org/sites/default/files/docs/ChineseFamilySupportGroup.pdf.

Thank you! 謝謝!

Lunar New Year

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