Category Archives: County

Free Entry to San Mateo County Parks Through the Mariposa Program

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We are sharing some exciting news about a collaboration between San Mateo County Parks and the Human Services Agency! The Mariposa Program has been established to provide a free park pass to eligible households. The pass waives entrance fees to participating parks listed in the above flyers. Who is eligible?San Mateo households that are current recipients in the following programs are eligible for the free park pass:

  • CalWORKs
  • CalFresh
  • Medi-Cal
  • ACE

Pass is valid for how long?
The free park pass is valid for 12 months. 

How does a household request one?
Eligible households can call 650-508-3200 to request their free pass.  

Please share the above information with San Mateo households that you believe can benefit from the program. If you need more information about the program, please visit  Vehicle Entry Fee Waivers | County of San Mateo, CA (smcgov.org)

MariposaProgramFlier.June2023.FINAL_Download
MariposaProgramFlier.June2023.Spanish.FINAL_Download

8/10 – Latino/a/x Community Assessment Report in Half Moon Bay

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Please join Ayudando Latinos a Soñar (ALAS) and partner agencies as they present the findings of the Latino/a/x community assessment! Attached are the flyers for the August 10th presentation. There will be refreshments before the presentation, which will include community entertainment. Please note that the event will be to give back to the community with the data the community provided for the assessment. The data presentation will be conducted in Spanish. There will be interpreter devices available for those who need it, a great opportunity to get a sense of what it’s like for communications to happen through devices! 

If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Rae Abileah at rae@alasdreams.com and let her know if you need an interpreter device.

If you have any questions, please email Edith Cabuslay at ecabuslay@smcgov.org.

Why say “BIPOC” Instead of “Minority?

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Happy BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color ) Mental Health Awareness Month! The way we talk about things can often influence the way we think about them. In the field of mental health, we often talk about using  “person first” language. This is language that prioritizes the identity of individuals as human beings first over their mental health status (e.g. saying “person with schizophrenia” instead of “schizophrenic”). This concept should be used as well in the way we refer to communities. The use of “minority” labels BIPOC communities in terms of their quantity instead of their quality. The term “minority” also emphasizes the power differential between “majority” and “minority” groups and can imply “minority” is synonymous with inferiority.

Though “minority” may continue to be used in academic spaces, the words the mental health community uses should be mindful of how these terms create and perpetuate negative images and stereotypes of those that identify as BIPOC. By including “BI” Black and Indigenous in addition to “POC” people of color, we are also honoring the intersectional experiences of Black and Indigenous individuals and their communities, as well as the spectrum of existence and experience by POC.  

Learn more about  BIPOC Mental Health and San Mateo County BHRS’ Health Equity Initiatives.

Learn more about BHRS’ Office of Diversity and Equity here.    

Nominate a Recovery Champion for the 2023 Steve Kaplan Award!

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It’s that time again!  Calling for nominees for the 2023 Steve Kaplan Award!  Submit your nomination using the form at the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/G6QZL8D Deadline for submitting a nomination is Friday, August 18, 2023. 

The Board of Directors of Voices of Recovery San Mateo County (VORSMC) is requesting nominations for the 6th Annual Steve Kaplan Award to be presented during Recovery Month 2023 in September. The award will be presented at an event during Recovery Month, to be announced at a later date.

You can nominate multiple people or organizations by submitting a separate form for each individual or group. This award is a tribute to the person or organization that exemplifies these principles:

  • Represents the diverse San Mateo County recovery community; people in long-term recovery, their families, friends, and allies, and supports all pathways to recovery
  • Educates the public, advocates for improved policies, and serves to advance opportunities for long-term recovery from substance use disorder and/or co-occurring substance use and mental health challenges
  • Mobilizes resources to increase the prevalence and quality of long-term recovery services and supports
  • Works to make peer-based and other recovery support services available and accessible to build leadership and support long-term recovery

The Steve Kaplan Award was established in 2018 in honor of former San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Director Steve Kaplan, whose contributions helped to create VORSMC. VORSMC opened its doors in 2009 with a mission to honor and embrace the unique strengths and challenges people encounter along the journey of recovery, and to create peer-led opportunities for education, wellness, advocacy, and support for individuals in or in need of long-term recovery from substance use and co-occurring substance use and mental health challenges, equally sharing these opportunities and support services with impacted families.    

For any questions, contact Veronica Antonelli at info@vorsmc.org or by phone at (650) 643-6955

Thanks for participating!

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Adds Spanish Text and Chat Service Ahead of One-Year Anniversary

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One year after the rollout of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its 988 Lifeline partners announced the addition of Spanish text and chat services. Specialized services for LGBTQI+ youth and young adults were also added earlier this month, following a successful pilot test. The 988 Lifeline is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive strategy to address the nation’s mental health crisis, and to date, the Administration has invested nearly $1 billion into this life-saving initiative. This investment is driving an increase in calls, texts and chats, with nearly 5 million contacts answered in the past year — and helped millions of people in crisis.

More information on the new services here.

San Mateo County Schools/ Organizations Recognized at Directing Change Annual Film Contest

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Big Smiles & Beautiful Conversations at AACI and VoRSMC 23′ Juneteenth Celebration

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Thank you, all who joined us for African American Community Initiative (AACI) and Voices of Recovery San Mateo (VorSMC)’s 2nd annual Juneteenth Celebration on Friday, June 16th 2023.

Special highlights from this event include a resource fair which included or harm reduction table and Student National Medical Association (SNMA) at Stanford School of Medicine who provide health checks for the community. Musical selections were provided by Q Smith, Praise dancing performances were provided by SherOnMyPraise Ministries. and drumming provided by Onye Health and Well Being in Drumming. Thank you also Supervisor Noelia Corzo and Mayor Lisa Gauthier of East Palo Alto for attending and speaking.

The event also included a panel discussion focused on health and other topics. Panelists included Ja’Net Lawrence, Darris Young, Dwyane Aikens Jr., Bunmi Fariyike, Maximillian Bailey, Nnamdi Orakpo, MD, PhD, and Keon Pearson, MD/MBA.

This event was held virtually with approximately 130 people attending in-person and approximately 50 people attending online.

About African American Community Initiative
The mission of the African American Community Initiative is to become a known resource for African American Community members facing challenges with finding and utilizing mental health services, while addressing inequalities faced by African Americans in our county.  Our vision is to build a community driven support system for reducing mental health and substance use treatment disparities, and the stigma of mental illness.  Learn more about AACI here.

Meet ODE’s Workforce, Education and Training (WET) Team!

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Angela Quiroz, Elise Cabilatazan, Andrew Tardiff, Stacy Williams, Irene Pham

The love of learning, hope for growth and passion to be part of the fight for equity are some of the values that drives BHRS Office of Diversity & Equity‘s WET team. The WET team, consisting of new and seasoned members, is excited to come together to continue fostering growth within our system while also seeking to accomplish established goals and support the learning needs of our staff through a variety of trainings, workshops, and programs.

In the upcoming fiscal year, the WET team is striving to bring back a number of trainings both in-person and virtual including Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Prevention and Management of Assaultive Behavior, and Motivational Interviewing, to name a few, as well as increasing staff’s access to Continuing Education (CE) eligible trainings.

Moreover, the internship program is spurring to action and preparing to welcome our next round of clinical and ODE interns. The WET team is kicking things off with an in-person orientation; an event that has not happened in 2 years due to the pandemic. A number of interns will benefit from being identified as cultural stipend participants and have the opportunity to work alongside one of the Health Equity Initiatives (HEIs) on a community related project. The internship program is also being revamped to include new outreach strategies to help bolster the training opportunities offered in our county.

We aim to do our part to support our teams with their professional and personal growth and will continue to look for ways to improve and excel.

Written by Irene Pham (she/her), BHRS Office of Diversity and Equity

6/14 – Celebrating Immigrant Heritage Month

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  • Join us at the Redwood City Public Library's Makerspace on June 14, 2023, at 7pm to honor the history and accomplishments of our immigrant communities through creativity!
  • Unase a nosotros en el Makerspace de la biblioteca pública de Redwood City el 14 de Junio, 2023 a las 7 de la noche para honrar la historia y los logros de nuestras comunidades inmigrantes a través de la creatividad!
  • 请于2023年6月14日晚上7点来到红木城公共图书 馆的创客空间，通过创意来纪念我们的移⺠社区的 历史和成就!

June is National Immigrant Heritage Month! Join San Mateo County’s Office of Consumer Affairs in the Makerspace on June 14th, Wednesday, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. as we explore innovative and creative ways to celebrate the history and achievements of our immigrant communities. Decorate Epilog Laser Cutter wooden bookmarks or tell your story using heart map magnets. Learners of all ages and experience levels are welcome.

Joint Health Equity Initiative Collaborative Meeting in Celebration of Juneteenth

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It gives us great pleasure to announce a wonderful collaboration!

The African American Community Initiative (AACI) and the Spirituality Initiative (SI) will hold a collaborative monthly meeting, in the community of East Palo Alto (in-person & via Zoom) on Tuesday, June 13, 2023 from 10:30am to 2pm.

The in-person location is at Ravenswood Family Health Network in the Juanita Duncan Conference Room (1842 Bay Road, E Palo Alto).

Lunch and refreshments will be served!

Please see the above flyer for more information and how to reserve your seat if you plan to attend in-person (seating is limited).

You will need to log in separately for each meeting if you plan to participate via Zoom. For Zoom Info, email Lee Harrison at leharrison@smcgov.org.

Both meetings will have brief presentations:

  • Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE)
  • African American Community Initiative (AAC) – Adult Protective Services Presentation (Cassie Villar) and AACI Introduction and Overview
  • Spirituality Initiative (SI) – Bishop, Dr. Cleveland Prince, Senior Pastor of True Light Missionary Baptist Church in East Palo Alto.  A discussion about “Spirituality in the African American Experience, Overcoming Struggles, Faith and Fatherhood.”

Please plan to join us, and please share this information widely in your networks!

Also join AACI and Voices of Recovery for their Juneteenth celebration on Friday, 6/16/23. More info here.

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