In honor of Suicide Prevention Month and Recovery Happens Month, we are hosting free events all throughout the month of September! For most up-to-date info on events, visit SMCHealth.org/SPM.
This year’s statewide theme is #SupportYourWay. Join us in validating the choice to reach out for help, understanding that support can look different for everyone, and reframing the act of asking for support as taking control—not losing it.
Today on 9/8 aka 988 Day and the start of Suicide Prevention week, we are uplifting the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Learn the difference between 911 and 988. This resource is always here for you. You can also call the San Mateo County Crisis Line at (650) 579-0350 24/7 for help during a mental health crisis and the San Mateo County Mobile Crisis Response Team can come to you in person.
Events happening this week:
💜 9/8 – STS and Alt2Su Suicide Awareness Panel | Heart & Soul Clinic, Burlingame
💜 9/9 – Voices of Recovery’s Brunch/ Philomena Walk of Hope | 400 County Center, Redwood City
💜 9/9 – Board of Supervisors Proclamation | 500 County Center, Redwood City
More info about events at SMCHealth.org/SPM.
Since its launch in Fall 2016, the Health Ambassador Program for Youth (HAP-Y) has been transforming the way young people in San Mateo County understand, talk about, and lead in the field of behavioral health. What began as a vision to empower youth with tools and knowledge to support themselves and their peers has grown into a powerful community of more than 300 trained ambassadors.
Over the course of 14 weeks of training, HAP-Y participants gain skills in psychoeducation, suicide prevention, healthy coping, healthy relationships, and storytelling. The program culminates in the Photovoice workshop, a unique opportunity for youth to share their lived experiences through photography and narrative. Year after year, participants describe this workshop as their favorite.
“Photovoice is magical… It’s really incredible how emotions can be so clearly conveyed through a few words from a nervous youth.” – HAP-Y Participant
HAP-Y has not only been an educational program—it has been a career pathway and inspiration. Many ambassadors have gone on to pursue studies and careers in behavioral health, with alumni now working as clinicians or working toward their licensure.
Like many community programs, HAP-Y faced a turning point during the pandemic. Originally designed for in-person meetings, the program quickly adapted to an all-virtual format to ensure that young people could continue to access support and training during a critical time. Today, HAP-Y thrives under a hybrid model: 12 weeks of virtual workshops followed by 2 weeks of in-person sessions, striking a balance between flexibility and the meaningful connections built face-to-face.
Read more
📣 September Suicide Prevention Month is officially upon us! Throughout the month, get involved in suicide prevention in your community by attending one of our many free events being hosted all throughout San Mateo County. Look forward to art shows, suicide prevention trainings, a glass etching art night, panels and more! Learn more about the events at SMCHealth.org/SPM.
Events happening this week:
💜 9/3 at 5:30PM – Creating Safety Through Expressions, Mouton Center in East Palo Alto
💜 9/5 at 5PM – Voices of Recovery Annual Candlelight Vigil
💜 9/8 at 1PM – STS and Alt2Su Suicide Awareness Panel, Heart & Soul Clinic in Burlingame
📅 We are just 3 weeks away from September Suicide Prevention Month (in addition to Recovery Happens Month)!
San Mateo County is joining statewide and nationwide efforts for the following Suicide Prevention Month (SPM) observances. SPM is one of the best times of the year where we can honor those affected by suicide and inspire action to prevent suicide.
For 2025, San Mateo County and partners are promoting the statewide theme: “Support, Your Way.”
What if suicide prevention could feel human, honest, and self-assured, all while being inclusive of the different ways people can find support. Rather than centering fear, crisis, or clinical language, this theme is about agency, particularly at vulnerable moments when people feel like they have none. It reflects a cultural truth that people want help on their own terms, and flips the understanding of asking for help not as a loss of control—but as a regaining of it.
It’s not about prescribing what help should look like. It’s about validating the choice to reach out for help, understanding that support can look different for everyone, and reframing the act of asking for support as taking control.
For more info on attending free events, getting involved, or finding support, visit SMCHealth.org/SPM.
*Lastly, to apply for one of our ten $300 mini-grants to fund an event, view application here.*
Thank you for helping prevent suicide and promote wellness in our community!
Taylor Coutts and Sylvia Tang
Suicide Prevention Committee Co-Chairs
Walter Ng and Grace Higgs
Suicide Prevention Month Planning Committee Co-Chairs
We are excited to announce that this year’s 18th Annual Housing Hero Awards will feature a Photovoice Pop-Up! This Photovoice Pop-Up intends to recognize housing stability and its importance in one’s journey to recovery from co-occurring substance use, mental health and primary health issues. Additionally, this event will feature displayed photovoices from our previous Housing Photovoice session facilitated by Senior Community Worker/Housing Specialist, Lee Harrison.
No registration needed for this event. Just come to the award ceremony and complete a Photovoice as you please.
Nomination form for the 2024 David Lewis Award is now open. Deadline to submit nomination form is August 15th, 2025.
This award is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to substance abuse recovery through successful programs, community education, stigma reduction or client advocacy. David Lewis was a long-term employee of San Mateo County Health. He was the co-founder and president of the Board of Directors of “Free at Last,” a substance abuse treatment and prevention agency in East Palo Alto that seeks to break the cycle of addiction, rebuild families, foster education and economic self sufficiency, and contribute to the health and safety of the community.
Download nomination form below.
See other Behavioral Health Commission Awards here.
Hello,
I am excited to announce that in recognition of National Wellness Month, we will be conducting a Photovoice series throughout the month of August and into early September. National Wellness Month reminds us to promote self-care and healthy practice that enhances one’s mental and emotional wellbeing. For this reason, the session will be focused asking participants how they foster wellness for their behavioral health. By sharing stories and photos related to wellness, we emphasize the importance of taking care of oneself just in time for Suicide Prevention month in September.
Sessions will occur from 4:30 to 6:30 pm in-person at 310 Harbor Blvd, Building E, Belmont on August 6th, 13th, 20th and the last session will occur on September 3rd.
To register, interested participants can fill out an application via this link, or contact me via email my at Nkelleher@smcgov.org. If you have any questions or would like to refer any clients or community members, please do not hesitate to reach out to me! We will close the application once we have confirmed a maximum of 10 participants. In order to participate in this series, participants must be committed to attending all 4 sessions.
Please see the flyer below for more details.
Hello, we are excited to announce that beginning on Wed, 9/17/25, San Mateo County Sheriffs Office’s Community Alliance to Recognize our Neighborhoods (CARON) will be hosting an in-person Spanish Parent Project class at the Half Moon Bay Library, 620 Correas St., Half Moon Bay. This course is completely free to the community, and includes free childcare and dinner.
If you are interested in registering in this course, please contact the facilitator, José Luis Aguirre via jaguirre@smcgov.org or 650-599-9107.
On Saturday, June 14th, the Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Office of Diversity and Equity’s Pride Initiative hosted their 13th annual Pride event for Pride month. At this event, the Storytelling Photovoice program hosted their first “Photovoice Pop-Up” to celebrate Pride month. The Pop-Up was inspired by San Mateo County Office of Epidemiology and Evaluation’s (OEE) recent study on LGBTQ+ Health. The study found that the LGBTQ+ community is one to experience the biggest health and social disparities . According to their findings, the 29.4% of the SMC LGBTQ+ community has experienced difficulty getting to see a physician in the past year. In addition, 53.9% of the SMC LGBTQ+ community would not know where to access treatment for drug related problems if needed (OEE). The study also found that 56.6% of the LGBTQ+ community has experienced symptoms of depression in the last 2 years. Overall, the OEE’s study concluded that, “Historically, LGBTQ+ individuals have experienced high levels of discrimination, stigma, and barriers to competent health care, which are still impacting the health of this community today.”
In an effort to address the behavioral health barriers, equity, and stigma experienced by the SMC LGBTQ+ groups, this Pride Photovoice activity encouraged all Pride event attendees and the larger LGBTQ+ community to answer the questions “What does LGBTQ+ wellness mean to you?” and/or “Celebrating Pride is important because…”. Participants could simply write their responses to these questions, or they could pair their response with a corresponding polaroid picture they took at the event. This Pride Photovoice Pop-Up provided participants an outlet to amplify behavioral needs, while learning about BHRS Pride services that are aligned with the LGBTQ+ community. In sharing one’s story, LGBTQ+ community and all Pride attendees had the opportunity to advocate and amplify LGBTQ+ representations it relates to behavioral health needs, destigmatizing one’s behavioral health condition, all while promoting self-affirmation and empowerment during Pride month and beyond. When a participant finished their Photovoice, they had the chance to hang their final project at our booth for other viewers to see, ultimately inspiring and encouraging other Pride attendees to participate in the Photovoice Pop-Up booth. When attendees left the event, they had the chance to take home their final photovoice to keep, or they donated their final Photovoice to the Photovoice program for other clients to see at our office in Belmont.
Overall, this Pop-Up was a success in amplifying the inequities endured by the LGBTQ+ community. The more that people participated and hung their photovoices, the more that other attendees were drawn to the booth and wanted to participate themselves. Unlike our usual Photovoice, we had a lot of participation from children/youth and their parents. It was immensely impactful to see younger generations share their answers to these very important framing questions. We are thankful to everyone who came to our pop-up, and we look forward to implementing this type of Photovoice activity within other Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Office of Diversity and Equity events.
To see more photovoices from this pop-up, visit our ODE Storytelling webpage. If you are interested in partaking in a full 4-part Photovoice session, please contact our Storytelling Program Coordinator, Nicoletta Kelleher at nkelleher@smcgov.org.
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