Category Archives: Cultural Humility

Storytelling Program Relaunches with a Focus on Housing

Posted on by

The Storytelling Photovoice Program kicked off their re-launch session with a Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Office of Diversity and Equity’s (BHRS ODE) Photovoice Housing Project. The ODE Storytelling Program empowers community members to share their stories of recovery and wellness to heal and to address issues within their communities. Through the Photovoice sessions, participants highlighted housing inequities and were able to amplify their experiences while narrating the barriers associated with loss of housing, their journey towards receiving housing, or how not having housing has impacted their everyday lives. In doing this, participants shared their personal stories, as well as their journey to recovery with mental health and substance use challenges and how this creates additional barriers in obtaining stable housing. 

The four-part training was hosted by BHRS’ Senior Community Housing Specialist and BHRS ODE’S African American Community Initiative’s (AACI) co-chair Lee Harrison and ODE’s longstanding BHRS Health Ambassador, John Butler. Our facilitators fostered a safe and supportive environment for participants and encouraged folx to tell their stories from their own personal lens – an opportunity not many community members have. On the fourth session, or graduation day, participants invited guests to view the group’s final Photovoice projects. In addition, we were joined by housing experts, Kelsey Dattilo the BHRS Housing Programs Supervisor and BHRS Housing Programs Manager, Mariana Rocha, on our graduation for our final Photovoice gallery viewing!  

According to our viewer data, all of our guests strongly agreed that as a result of viewing these Photovoices, they learned how mental health and substance use condition impact lives. Additionally, all guests strongly agreed that as a result of viewing the Photovoice’s, they plan to act in ways that are more supportive of people with behavioral health challenges. Finally, all of our guests strongly agreed that sharing stories through the Photovoice project can inspire other community members to do the same. 

Keep an eye out for these Housing Photovoice projects as we will be displaying them across BHRS sites and clinics. To learn more about the Storytelling Photovoice program or to host a session amongst your clients or team, please reach out to the Storytelling Program Coordinator, Nicoletta Kelleher! Stay tuned for more Photovoice projects!  

Written by Nica Kelleher, Program Coordinator at Behavioral Health & Recovery Services’ Office of Diversity & Equity

2/15 – 2025 Black History Month Wellness Event

Posted on by

Mark your calendars! African American Community Initiative (AACI) is hosting their 2025 Black History Month Wellness Event celebration! This is a free community event promoting arts and wellness for African Americans. Expect live music, resource fair, speakers, and health & wellness checks. 

Date: Sat, 2/15/25
Time: 1:00PM- 4:00PM PST
Location: Eastside College Preparatory School (1041 Myrtle Street, East Palo Alto)
Contact: Dee Pennix at AACIInitiative@gmail.com

About AACI:

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 their work here. 

Meet ODE’s 2024-2025 Interns!

Posted on by

The County of San Mateo’s Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Office of Diversity and Equity is happy to announce that we have two new interns for this year! Our interns are passionate, driven, and experienced in advancing equity, wellness, and prevention for culturally diverse underserved/unserved populations. Our interns and their respective work areas include: 

Michelle Armand (She/Her) – Workforce Education and Training

My name is Michelle Armand, and I’m an intern for the Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE) from September 2024 to June 2025. I am currently pursuing my master’s degree in Diverse Community Development and Leadership from California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and I hold a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from UCLA.

Over my academic and career journey, I have always been driven to advance health equity—especially in terms of correcting injustices in underprivileged areas. Through my profession in healthcare, I have had the honor of serving Los Angeles County’s most underprivileged populations, therefore strengthening my resolve to guarantee fair access to high-quality treatment. This internship provides a valuable opportunity to connect that passion with the practical skills needed to make a difference in the behavioral health field, and I’m excited to contribute to the Workforce, Education, and Training (WET) program.

During my time here, I will be focusing on learning more about workforce development, cultural humility, and the intersection of mental health and equity. I’m thrilled to work with a team that’s committed to creating meaningful change, and I’m eager to both share my perspectives and gain new insights that will help me grow, not just professionally, but personally.

I’m happy to be working with impactful, empathetic, and bold collaborative team of leaders who not only provide space and listen to me and my fellow interns but also to the San Mateo community. We are working together right now to compile data on how San Mateo County could fight the present epidemic of loneliness that so many people all around are experiencing.

Sharing my ideas and learning more about what ODE has to offer to develop not only professionally but also personally will be interesting. It is an honor to help serve not only this organization but this community. Thank you all for your time and don’t forget to be kind to one another.

A fun fact about me: I’m a creative soul who loves to express myself through cooking and art.

To learn more, click here » https://www.smchealth.org/behavioral-health-staff-training-workforce-development

Frankie Anguiano (She/Her) – Suicide Prevention & Stigma Reduction

Hello! My name is Frankie, and I am an intern for the Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE). I recently graduated from University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a Specialization in Clinical Psychology. 

I was born and raised in the Bay Area, and I truly appreciate the diversity that comes with living here. Being immersed in such a variety of cultures has deepened my understanding and appreciation of them. 

Throughout my career, I’ve gained valuable experience in roles such as a behavior specialist, eating disorder counselor, and mental health peer educator. Currently, I work full-time as a Crisis Intervention Specialist for CARES, where I assist law enforcement with mental health crises along the coast side.

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family, exploring new coffee spots, going to the beach, and baking.

For this internship, I’ll be focusing on suicide prevention and stigma reduction, areas I’m deeply passionate about. I’m excited to contribute to such an amazing team and continue my work in the mental health field. 

To learn more, click here » Suicide Prevention – San Mateo County Health (smchealth.org) 

About the Internship Program 
The Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE) Internship Program is designed to provide work opportunities and practical learning experience for undergraduate and graduate students to enhance their academic preparation and expose them to public service at the county level. This program is offered every fiscal year from September to June. Interns work 20-hours per week and are paid with a stipend funded by the Mental Health Services Act. 

About the Office of Diversity and Equity 
The Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE) advances health equity in behavioral health outcomes of marginalized communities throughout San Mateo County. ODE works to empower communities; influence policy and system changes; develop strategic and meaningful partnerships; and promote workforce development and transformation within the County’s behavioral health service system. 

To learn more about ODE’s work, visit  www.smchealth.org/bhrs/ode.  

12/3 – Queering the Season: Mental Health Tools for Holiday Peace Workshop

Posted on by

Hi Community Partners and Collaborators,

I hope this email finds you all well. I am super excited to share with you an upcoming event that CORA’s LGBTQ+ Program and the San Mateo County Pride Center are collaborating on. Please share with your teams and within your circles as you see fit. I hope to see some of you there! All ages are welcome.

Join us on Tuesday, December 3rd from 6 – 7:30 pm for our Queering the Season: Mental Health Tools for Holiday Peace Workshop here at CORA in the Carelle Training Room (2205 Palm Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94403). Are you concerned about preparing for and navigating the stress of the upcoming holidays? Are you hoping to generate a list of personalized coping tools for yourself to utilize during the holiday season and beyond? Join us for our upcoming holiday coping tool workshop to learn more about taking care of our internal and external being! We will take the time to create a list of our own coping tools and comforts and make bracelets/keychains as a token to remember. This event is created specifically for LGBTQIA+ identifying folks.

Please RSVP here https://forms.gle/qVai4c8fuSfxdd8m6

10/1 – Interfaith National Day of Prayer: You Are the Light in Loneliness & Healing

Posted on by

Join us for Interfaith National Day of Prayer on Tues, 10/1/24, 12PM-2PM at 400 County Center, Redwood City! 

We are ALL touched by mental illness. Only with the guidance, prayers and actions from our faith and behavioral health networks working together, will our communities reach better mental health and well-being.

At the Day of Prayer for Behavioral Health and Understanding, faith and secular leaders will join hundreds of events around the country to publicly recommit ourselves to replace misinformation, blame, fear and prejudice with truth, inclusion and love in order to offer hope and support to those most in need.

Community members, consumers, family members, faith community and behavioral health providers all welcome!

The National Day of Prayer has been observed in San Mateo County since 2016.

For more information contact: Isaac Frederick at ifrederick@smcgov.org or Pam Ward Pious at wpam3238@gmail.com.

Health Ambassadors Build Connections at Mental Health Month Open Mic

Posted on by

English Version below

El Pasado 11 de Mayo, El BHRS- Programa Embajador de Salud estuvo presente en el evento Conexiones que Sanan, durante el Mes de la Concientización de Salud Mental. Nuestros compañeros Embajadors Cynthia Castro, Lulu Briseño y John Butler, compartieron sus historias de recuperación ante los asistentes. John, Lulu y Cynthia nos hicieron sentir muy orgullosos, cuando escuchamos que para ellos el bienestar emocional y mental es posible cuando se busca y encuentra apoyo de individuos y organizaciones como BHRS y El Programa Embajador de Salud y otras organizaciones del Condado San Mateo, donde se aprenden herramientas para enfrentar los retos del comportamiento y las adicciones.

Lulu y John compartieron como a través de la poesía y la novela gráfica, respectivamente, han encontrado el bienestar y han apoyado a otras personas que están sufriendo. Cynthia por su parte, enfrento sus miedos y decidió a parase en el escenario y mandar un mensaje de esperanza a las mamás solteras que cuidan de niños y jóvenes con desafíos del comportamiento, además de los de ella propios. Otros BHRS- Embajador@s de Salud como Lupita Anguiano e Yrene Orué participaron en la mesa de registro. Mientras que Alma Rodriguez, Esther Gonzalez y Jose Nuñez estuvieron presentes en el evento para apoyar. El director de BHRS- Jei Africa saludó personalmente a los Embajadores y reconoció el valor de su experiencia de vida y aportaciones en la construcción de una sociedad libre de Estigma. A la foto de grupo con Dr. Africa se agregaron los Embajadores Michael Lim y Gina Olinger-Giani.

Last May 11, The BHRS-Health Ambassador Program was at the Healing Connections event during Mental Health Awareness Month. Our fellow Ambassadors Cynthia Castro, Lulu Briseno, and John Butler shared their stories of recovery with attendees. John, Lulu, and Cynthia made us feel very proud, hearing that for them, emotional and mental well-being is possible when one seeks and finds support from individuals and organizations like BHRS and the Health Ambassador Program (HAP), where one learns tools to face behavioral challenges and addictions.

Lulu and John shared how, through poetry and graphic novels, respectively, they have found wellness and supported others who are suffering. For her part, Cynthia faced her fears and decided to stand on stage and send a message of hope to single mothers who care for children and young people with behavioral challenges in addition to her own. Other BHRS-Health Ambassadors like Lupita Anguiano and Yrene Orue participated at the registration table. Alma Rodriguez, Esther Gonzalez, and Jose Nunez were present at the event to support. The Director of BHRS, Jei Africa, personally greeted the Ambassadors and recognized the value of their live experience and collaboration in building a society free of stigma. Added to the group photo were Ambassadors Michael Lim and Gina Olinger-Giani and HAP Program Coordinator Charo Martinez.

This Weekend! San Mateo County’s 12th Annual Pride Celebration

Posted on by

Please join us for the San Mateo County Pride Parade and Celebration, “Love at Our Core, Pride in 2024!” this Saturday June 8 at San Mateo Central Park, 50 E 5th Ave, San Mateo. The parade will start at 10:30 a.m. at B Street and 2nd Avenue and end at Central Park where the Celebration will be from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Both events are open to all at no cost and are sober events. The Pride Celebration will have live entertainment, live DJ, resource and vendor booths, local food trucks, family and pet friendly activities and more.

Visit smcpridecelebration.com for more information.

Building Connections at Healing Connections Open Mic

Posted on by

ICYMI: On Saturday, May 11, 2024, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Office of Diversity and Equity partnered with the Spirituality Initiative and Voices of Recovery to host “Healing Connections” Open Mic event to honor May Mental Health Month, promoting mental and spiritual wellness. This event was sponsored by Supervisor David Canepa.

The wellness open mic event celebrates healing community connections through the sharing of collective creative expressions. As a signature event for May Mental Health Month, the event served to combat the loneliness crisis/epidemic in San Mateo County. To take action against the loneliness crisis/epidemic, our Board of Supervisors passed a resolution in January declaring loneliness a public health crisis, pledging to promote social connection in our communities. According to the 2023 San Mateo County Health and Quality of Life Survey, 45% of residents in San Mateo County residents were experiencing difficulty with loneliness and isolation. Now more than ever it is important to find ways to connect with one another and the “Healing Connections” Open Mic was a means to foster further connection within the community. Through the volunteering of San Mateo County Health Ambassadors and Voices of Recovery tabling resources to share with the community, the wellness event was able to create a welcoming and positive atmosphere.  

Healing Connections was pleased to bring together artists of various backgrounds and provide a safe space for their performances. Pam Ward Pious, Spirituality Co-Chair, graciously kicked off the event with her poetry. The event was honored to have San Mateo County Health Ambassadors John Butler and Yrene Orue share their stories and their poetry. Cinthia Castro and Lourdes Briseno, who are also San Mateo County Health Ambassadors, shared their stories and performed their pieces in Spanish. The “Healing Connections” Open Mic was also honored by the appearance and performance of San Mateo County Supervisor, Noelia Corzo, during the event. Lastly, BHRS ODE would like to provide a special thank you to Dr. Jei Africa, Director of Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, and San Mateo County Behavioral Health Commissioners Michael Lim and Leticia Bido. 

BHRS ODE, San Mateo County Spirituality Initiative and Voice of Recovery would like to thank everyone who attended the “Healing Connections” Open Mic event. The sharing of stories and performances helped to further de-stigmatize mental health and spread awareness of May Mental Health Month, while inspiring others to share their stories; therefore, aligning with BHRS ODE’s values: 

  • Utilizing sharing stories (in this case: poems, stories, etc.) and lived experiences to reduce stigma against mental health and substance use conditions 
  • Amplify the voices of our underserved or underrepresented community members 
  • Raise awareness about how our performers shared their personal journeys to receiving Behavioral Health support. Their stories help us improve our behavioral health outcomes, making them more equitable and inclusive for all SMC community members 

BHRS ODE aspires to host a similar event in the future to be of service and to cultivate a more equitable and inclusive community for all.  

Written by Ayanna Wade, BHRS Office of Diversity & Equity Intern

5/1 – Loves Does Not Hurt

Posted on by

Chinese Health Initiative is collaborating with CORA and Star Vista to host a domestic violence awareness workshop on this coming Wednesday, May 1st evening from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. via zoom. Please join if you can and share the flyers with your organization and community. We hope this workshop will bring awareness and foundation knowledge about the domestic violence to the Chinese community. 

Congratulations to Dr. Maria Lorente-Foresti for Induction to the San Mateo County Women Hall of Fame!

Posted on by

On Friday, 3/8/24, at Skyline College, Director of Behavioral Health & Recovery Services Office of Diversity & Equity (ODE), Dr. Maria Lorente-Foresti was inducted into the San Mateo County Women Hall of Fame. The ceremony landed on International Women’s Day and was a celebration of incredible women throughout San Mateo County.  

Dr. Maria Lorente-Foresti has excelled in many different roles within San Mateo County including a psychologist, behavioral health clinic Unit Supervisor, Parent Project Program Coordinator and Director of ODE. With these different roles, Dr. Lorente-Foresti has made many impactful contributions in advancing the behavioral health & well-being of our San Mateo County community, especially for marginalized and underserved populations. For County community, she has supported the San Mateo County Pride Celebration and Sana Sana Events since inception and developed and implemented policy allowing behavioral health providers and clients to openly talk about how spirituality shapes a participant’s mental health and well-being.  

Dr. Lorente-Foresti’s leadership style is a unique combination of compassion, collaboration and perseverance. She brings these qualities into her work, community and family. In her family she is a single working caregiver supporting her elder parents and her son. In her community, she participates and supports community organizing for racial equity. And in her work, she leads with love and compassion despite forces of fear, hate and racism persisting in many parts of our society. Overall, she has an energy and brightness that shows she never loses sight of humanity and a larger vision where each one of us in San Mateo County may realize a healthy and meaningful life.  

Dr. Lorente-Foresti states in her acceptance speech, “I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina… during this journey my parents and my brother showed me resiliency, how to navigate challenges and the importance of community.” 

As Maria describes impactful moments in her life that shape her work she states, “these experiences are intertwined with my parents instilling in me the values of compassion sacrifice hard work in addition to a deep understanding that to create change you need many hearts and many hands.”  

Additionally, Dr. Lorente-Foresti has empowered staff and local community members to support and advocate for behavioral health equity and social justice for the San Mateo County community. While she advanced the wellness of employees, she also empowers employees to share their voice and shape the behavioral health system they work in and larger communities they are part of. For example, she engages her staff to engage in the unit decision making process as much as possible. She wants her staff to be empowered to shape the work of the team including strategy implementation, operations and employee engagement.  

The Women Hall of Fame recipient also plays a pivotal role in advancing multi-cultural organizational development for San Mateo County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services, supporting Government Alliance for Racial Equity (GARE) cohort and staff training for San Mateo County Health (now expanded Countywide), serving on the County Equal Employment Opportunity Committee and leading BHRS Health Equity Initiatives for the larger community.  

Once more, congratulations to Dr. Maria Lorente-Foresti for the honor she brings to Behavioral Health & Recovery Services!  

Recording of the event will be shared on San Mateo County Youtube.  

Watch CBS’ Coverage of the event here.  

Learn more about the San Mateo County Women Hall of Fame here.  

« Older Entries Recent Entries »