Category Archives: Mental Health Month

Understand Intersectionality and Mental Health | #Share4MH

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💭 Did you know? Communities of color with mental health conditions are less likely to receive mental health services than their white counterparts. Swipe through for some fast facts. 

When discussing mental health, we need to inform from an equity lens so that all our communities can thrive. Keep the conversation going, and share one of your cultural wellness practices.  

To access the graphics in English and Spanish visit our social media page here.

Visit SMCHealth.org/ODE to learn more and SMCHealth.org/HEI to get involved.

For our full list of free and public events and mental health resources, visit SMCHealth.org/MHM. 

It’s AANHPI Month! Here are Resources and Ways to Celebrate

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As we settle into this month of May, we recognize several celebrations that are important to us, our work, and our communities: Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Month and Mental Health Month (MHM)!

At BHRS Office of Diversity and Equity, we are working hard to increase the visibility of our AANHPI communities and destigmatize mental health. Our AANHPI communities make up over 30% of our County, and have invaluably contributed to the vibrancy of neighborhoods. From being able to taste delicious food spreads of pancit and haupia, and practicing resilient wellness remedies passed on from generation to generation, it is a special time to lift up our AANHPI communities, friends, and family members.

In that spirit, we have two EVENTS where you can honor our diversity:

  • Sat, 5/20- A Wellness Gathering, hosted by Pacific Islander Initiative and the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center at Sneath Lane Cultural Center in San Bruno. Please consider joining us and sharing this opportunity with those we serve.  The event will be a wonderful opportunity to connect with our community, obtain resources, complete health screenings and COVID vaccines and boosters, and enjoy delicious food and fun raffles.
  • Tues, 5/23- AANHPI Month Proclamation, feel free to join us at the Board of Supervisors Meeting, starting at 9am. Zoom link will be available at County of San Mateo – Calendar (legistar.com)

You can also dig deeper into an abundance of RESOURCES to learn more at FAPAC – AAPI Resources and FYI: Weekly Health Resources for May 3, 2023 (govdelivery.com). And don’t forget to spread the word, or better yet, join us in of all our numerous SMC Mental Health Month activities which can be found at Mental Health Month – San Mateo County Health (smchealth.org)!

Beyond this month, we warmly invite you to join our Health Equity Initiatives that specifically lift up our AANHPI communities:

Chinese Health InitiativeFirst Friday of the month1:30-3pm
Pacific Islander InitiativeFirst Tuesday of the month11am-1pm
Filipino Mental Health InitiativeThird Thursday of the month5-6:30pm

Full schedule of our 9 Health Equity Initiatives can be found here!

We extend these opportunities as invitations for you to join us as we lift up our AANHPI communities and reduce the barriers to addressing mental health!

In community,

Your ODE Team

Co-written by Kayla Tolentino (she/her) & Maria Lorente-Foresti (she/her)

Heart & Soul: What’s New in May

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Please Join Us for Wellness This Week!

Heart & Soul offers In-Person and Virtual community wellness activities, support groups, and events in Burlingame, Daly City, and San Mateo. Activities are free of charge and are open to all residents of San Mateo County. For information & updates, visit www.heartandsoulinc.org

Community Drop-In Center Location: 1633 Old Bayshore Hwy, Suite 258,Burlingame, CA 94010  
Please Join Heart & Soul in May to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month 2023 and to honor Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.

New this Month…
– Every Monday: Virtual Drop-In Hours 4:00 – 6:00 pm
– Tuesday, May 23: New WRAP Support Virtual Group 3:30 – 5:00 pm
– Every Wednesday: Virtual Drop-In Hours 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
– Wednesday, May 17: Open House 3:00 – 6:00 pm Highlighting speakers from the AAPI Community with lived experience of mental health challenges
– Every Thursday: Total Wellness Online 11:00 am
– Friday, May 19: New Online Group “Virtual Open House” 7:00 pm

Click Here for Printable PDF of Weekly Schedule with Zoom Links

2023 Mental Health Month | #Share4MH

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Partners and community members,  

We are quickly approaching that lime green time of the year again! đź’š Every May is Mental Health Month and California’s theme this year is #Share4MH! To promote engagement across communities in California and San Mateo County, we are asking everyone to find opportunities to share throughout the month. Sharing for mental health can look like:  

  • Sharing how you practice self-care.  
  • Sharing how you practice mental wellness.  
  • Sharing how you get support for your mental health.  
  • Sharing how you overcame stigma.  
  • Sharing your journey towards wellness 
  • Sharing mental health resources 

Check out our attached flyer to spark some other ideas! Also use our virtual background at your next virtual meeting to spark conversation.  

For our full list of free and public events, ways to get involved, and mental health resources, visit SMCHealth.org/MHM. 

Please share this email with your clients/consumers, colleagues, friends and community! 

2023-MHM-General-Flyer-Eng&SPDownload

Socios y miembros de la comunidad, 

¡Nos acercamos rápidamente a esa Ă©poca verde lima del año! ¡Cada mayo es el Mes de la Salud Mental y el tema de California este año es #Share4MH! Para promover la participaciĂłn en las comunidades de California y el condado de San Mateo, les pedimos a todos que encuentren oportunidades para compartir durante todo el mes. Compartir para la salud mental puede verse como: 

  • Compartir cĂłmo practica el autocuidado. 
  • Compartir cĂłmo practica el bienestar mental. 
  • Compartir cĂłmo obtiene apoyo para su salud mental. 
  • Compartir cĂłmo superĂł el estigma. 
  • Compartiendo su experiencia hacia el bienestar 
  • Compartir recursos de salud mental 

¡Vea nuestro folleto adjunto para generar otras ideas! TambiĂ©n use nuestro fondo virtual en su prĂłxima reuniĂłn virtual para iniciar la conversaciĂłn. 

Para ver nuestra lista completa de eventos pĂşblicos y gratuitos, formas de participar y recursos de salud mental, visite SMCHealth.org/MHM. 

¡Comparta este correo electrĂłnico con sus clientes/consumidores, colegas, amigos y comunidad! 

2023-MHM-General-Flyer-Eng&SP

Register for 2023 May Mental Health Month Planning Committee Meetings

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We welcome you to join our 2023 May Mental Health Month Planning Committee meetings (schedule below and in attached flyer).

Please register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIqcu2prTwqE9a7I4H7l7dHKOD9TUWUhqgr.  

Day of the WeekDateTimeLocationFocus
ThursdayMarch 23:30-5:00pmZoomIntroduction & Measures of Success
ThursdayMarch 163:30-5:00pmZoomEvents & Advocacy
ThursdayMarch 303:30-5:00pmZoomEvents & Advocacy
ThursdayApril 133:30-5:00pmZoomCommunication & Outreach
ThursdayApril 273:30-5:00pmIn-person-
310 Harbor Blvd-Bldg E, Belmont		Communication & Outreach
Thursday (Note: This meeting has been cancelled)June 83:30-5:00pmZoomDebrief and Celebration

All but one of our meetings is scheduled to meet virtually. Please see above for details. You can find agenda, minutes and recordings at this website. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, please let us know. We plan to share the meeting recordings and minutes in case anyone wants to catch up or review the meetings. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, please let us know.

Please help us share this message or attached flyer on social media to help us spread the word.

Looking forward to collaborating with you!
Sylvia & Kristie
Co-Chairs, May Mental Health Month Planning Committee Meeting

2022 May Mental Health Month #SMCTakeAction4MH

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Hello, 

As many of you know, May is Mental Health Month or, as we also like to call it, the lime greenest time of the year! This year’s theme, adopted from the statewide campaign, is #SMCTakeAction4MH. The theme encourages everyone to take actionable steps to address mental health and substance use matters. Over the past two years, the pandemic has been especially challenging for many of us. Your mental health is more important than ever. Throughout the month, learn ways you can take action to improve your communities’ mental wellness!

Each year we partner with local agencies and community members to offer free events throughout San Mateo County. This year, we are offering both in-person and virtual events!

To find our full calendar of events, learn ways to get involved, and find behavioral health resources. Visit our website here: SMCMentalHealthMonth.org.

Please promote Mental Health Month with your communities and networks by sharing our promo flyer and utilizing our virtual backgrounds.

In community, 

Kristie & Sylvia
Co-Chairs, May Mental Health Month Planning Committee
Behavioral Health & Recovery Services Office of Diversity and Equity

Sylvia Tang | She/Her/她
stang@smcgov.org | 650-578-7165

Kristie Lui | She/Her/她
kflui@smcgov.org

2022 Mental Health Month Planning Committee Schedule

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You are invited to San Mateo County’s 2022 May Mental Health Month Planning Committee hosted by Behavioral Health & Recovery Services Office of Diversity and Equity. The virtual meetings are open to the public.

Thursdays 3:30-5:30pm

February 24
March 24
April 14
June 9

Stipends are available for those who identify as behavioral health clients or family members. Language Interpretation is provided if needed. To reserve language services. Please contact us at least one week prior to meeting.

Missed some of the virtual events for mental health month? Watch them here!

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Each year, San Mateo County joins our state and country in celebrating Mental Health Month (MHM) in May. MHM is one of the best times of the year to increase awareness and inspire action to reduce stigma against those with mental health and substance use conditions. Every year we partner with local agencies and community members to promote events free and open to the public throughout the county.

In 2021, we hosted over 40 virtual events in honor of Mental Health Month! If you did not get a chance to catch our awesome events, you can rewatch some of them here on our playlist:

List of events offered on our playlist:

  • Supporting Perinatal Mental Health
  • Apoyando la Salud Mental Health
  • Mental Health & Pets
  • Growth & Recovery in the Face of Challenges
  • Visualizing Mental Wellness: A Graphic Novel Presentation
  • Spiritual Ideation: Mental Wellness

To learn more about Mental Health Month and how to get involved next year, visit SMCHealth.org/MHM.

#HopeForChange – Mental Health MOVEment

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#HopeForChange of your present moment by incorporating movement. This movement can be the movement of your body, your breath, or your thoughts with meditation. Check out these 2 minute meditations: https://www.dropbox.com/s/j4dvdio0xaoudxd/4_Activity%20Guide_%20MOVEMent.pdf?dl=0

#MentalHealthMOVEment

For more info about MHM and our free virtual events, visit SMCHealth.org/MHM.

In addition to moving for mental health, please also check out the upcoming events listed below. All events are free but space is limited. For updates and pre-registration, visit SMCHealth.org/MHM.

Wed, May 19 – 6pm-7pm | MeditaciĂłn con Pablo Gonzalez

Wed, May 19 – 6pm-7pm | Healing Hope: Intimate Partner Abuse Survivor Panel

Thurs, 5/20- 11:30am-12:30pm | Gentle Chair Yoga

Thurs, 5/20- 4pm-5pm | Family Talk: Vaping

Thurs, 5/20- 7pm-8pm | Mental Health and Music with Gaby Castro

Fri, 5/21- 1pm-2:30pm | Growth and Recovery in the Face of Challenges: Re-examining Myths About Mental Health

Fri, 5/21- 6pm-8pm | Healing Hope with Expressive Arts

Mon, 5/24- 12pm | Solutions for Supportive Homes: Possibilities and Progress

Tues, 5/25- 3pm-4:30pm | Visualizing Mental Wellness: a Graphic Novel presentation from Peers

Tues, 5/25- 6:30pm-8pm | Changing the Stigma: Youth Led Discussion

Tues, 5/25 (also 6/1) – 6pm-8pm | Listening Lab Workshops w/ Nethra Samarawickrema & Yuri Zaitsev

Wed, 5/26- 4pm-6pm | Felton Institute (re)MIND/BEAM Open House and Early Psychosis Informational Session

We need your help to spread the word to your clients/consumers, friends, family and community!

Burlingame High School studentS’ short Film Sends message of Hope

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In September 2020, the Directing Change Program launched a Hope & Justice category as an opportunity for youth to express their feelings and to inspire others through art. Submissions around “Hope” focus on sharing personal stories about what gives us hope during these challenging times and how we practice self-care. The “Justice” option asks youth to share a personal experience with discrimination or injustice that allows others to feel empathy, or entries can educate others about bias and encourage youth to take a stand against injustice when they see it.

Filmmakers Ryan Kang and Keunho Kim, students from Burlingame High School placed 1st in the Hope & Justice category with their film “Quarantined Hope”. Kang shared,

“Our short film is meant to inspire hope by documenting how writing poetry has given me a sense of hope during this pandemic. Mainly, it focuses on how poetry acts as an escape from all the stress and gloom of the current state of the world. The message is not specifically about poetry, but finding something or someone that can help cope with difficult emotions.”

The film’s message of inspiring hope aligns with this year’s Mental Health Month statewide theme #HopeForChange. The theme reminds us that while change is not always planned and can often be uncomfortable, it’s important to remind ourselves and others to spread and rely on the hope that carried us through a year of change. In honor of Mental Health Month, San Mateo County is hosting free virtual events throughout the month. For more information on the events, visit SMCHealth.org/MHM.

Along with Mental Health Month, May is Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month. Uplift APA voices throughout the month of May and share creations by the APA community like this short film! For ways to support San Mateo County’s APA community, visit SMCHealth.org/HEI to learn about our various Health Equity Initiatives.

To learn more about Directing Change, visit: www.DirectingChangeCA.org  

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