Category Archives: Office of Diversity and Equity

2025 Black History Month Wellness Event Pays Homage to Ancestors

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On Saturday, February 15th, the African American Community Initiative (AACI) celebrated their 7th annual Black History Month celebration at Eastside College Preparatory Academy in East Palo Alto. This event paid homage to the African American/Black ancestors, specifically highlighting African Americans devout contributions to our American history through labor (the national theme was “African Americans & Labor: Paying homage to our ancestors”). The event featured guest presentations from our newest San Mateo County Board Member, Lisa Gauthier, who represents District 4 (East Palo Alto), Behavioral Health, and Recovery Services (BHRS) Director, Dr. Jei Africa, and BHRS Office of Diversity and Equity Director, Dr. Maria Lorente-Foresti. Attendees were provided history about African American/Black representation in predominately white work fields, as seen in the video by Misty Copeland, who shared her lived experiences as a Black Principal Ballet Dancer. In addition, attendees learned about the Port Chicago explosion in Suisan Bay and the 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black female unit of the United States Army during World War II. Finally, the event celebrated the work of Maurice Goodman, the President of the San Mateo County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) – the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the United States!

AACI closed out the event with an introduction to the Domini Hoskins Black History Museum and Learning Center in Redwood City, as well as providing some trivia and raffles to the community; all questions related to African American/Black individuals who contributed to American history and those who contributed to San Mateo County workforce. By celebrating Black History, AACI aims to reduce behavioral health treatment disparities, support an inclusive and welcoming environment for our clients and workforce and reduce the stigma around behavioral health challenges with the intention of creating more equitable behavioral health outcomes for our African American and Black community. The African American Community Initiative would like to thank all their guests and presenters for coming together and rejoicing in African American/Black History through music, community resources, speakers, and guest presenters. The African American Community Initiative hopes to see you all for their next event in June for Juneteenth!

To learn more about the African American Community Initiative, or to become a member, click here!

Suicide Prevention Committee Newsletter – March 2025

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The Suicide Prevention Committee (SPC) provides oversight and direction to suicide prevention efforts in San Mateo County. Led by the Office of Diversity and Equity at San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, the committee is comprised of suicide attempt survivors, suicide loss survivors, behavioral health providers, social service providers, local transportation agency staff, and other community members passionate about preventing suicide in our community.

COMMITTEE UPDATES

Latest Updates

  • Suicide Prevention Committee is working on three projects. Each project addresses one of the goals prioritized for 2025. More details in next SPC meeting.
    • GOAL 1: Enhance Visible Leadership and Networked Partnerships 
    • GOAL 2: Increase Development and Coordination of Suicide Prevention Resources  
    • GOAL 3: Advance Data Monitoring and Evaluation
  • Monthly Meetings
    • Upcoming Meeting: Tuesday, 03/04/2025 1:30pm – 3pm
      • Topic: Resource Flyer, “I Am Suicide Prevention” Video Series and Volunteer Opportunities
    • Prior Meeting: Tuesday, 01/07/2025 1:30pm – 3pm
      • Topic: Resource Flyer
  • 2025 Meeting Schedule

UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS

Pacific Islander Initiative of San Mateo County Presents: Adult Health First Aid Certification
(https://smcbhrsblog.org/2025/02/13/3-22-adult-mental-health-first-aid-hosted-by-pacific-islander-initiative/)

This important session will equip you with valuable knowledge and practical skills to support someone who may be facing mental health or substance abuse challenges.

The training covers the initial steps to take when you encounter someone in need and provides you with effective tools to help navigate these situations with confidence and care.

It’s a great opportunity to learn how to provide the right support when it’s needed most.

Registration link: bit.ly/MHSA-TCIP
Le Maota, 833 Mahler Road, Burlingame, CA
Saturday, March 22nd, 2025
9am – 6pm

Read more

Storytelling Program Relaunches with a Focus on Housing

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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

2/7 – Legal Aid of San Mateo County Presentation

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Hello,

Please share this event with your networks. San Mateo County’s Behavioral Health & Recovery Services’ Diversity & Equity Council is inviting Legal Aid of San Mateo County to present for the community.

Legal Aid will discuss community concerns around access to civil legal services with a focus on access to healthcare and public benefits for LGBTQ+, undocumented and mental health consumers.

Learn about Health Consumer Center at Legal Aid, the types of cases they support, and information about Medi-Cal for all, including undocumented individuals.

What: Presentation from Legal Aid of San Mateo County

When: Friday, 2/7/25, 11AM-12:30PM

Where: Via Zoom (Email Brenda Nuñez at Brenda.Nunez@star-vista.org for Zoom info)

2/15 – 2025 Black History Month Wellness Event

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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. 

Provide Feedback on Sequoia Hospital’s Community Needs Assessment

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Hello,

Every three years, Sequoia Hospital conducts a Community Health Needs Assessment to better understand the health and social issues that matter most to our community. As part of this effort, we’ve created a short and simple survey, available in both English and Spanish, for community members to share their thoughts.

We’re reaching out again to kindly ask for your help in spreading the word! Their feedback is invaluable—it will guide where we focus our programs and support, ensuring we address the real needs of those we serve. The survey only takes a few minutes, and every voice truly makes a difference. The survey will end on Friday, January 31st.

Please feel free to share the attached flyer with your members and networks. It includes a QR code for easy access to the survey in both English and Spanish. You can also share the direct links below:

Please complete the survey by Friday, January 31st.

Sequoia Hospital 2022 Community Needs Assessment

Happy 2025 from ODE + New Cultural Competency Plan

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In December 2024, San Mateo County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services(BHRS) submitted a comprehensive three-year Cultural Competency Plan, showcasing our ongoing efforts to support our diverse communities through culturally and linguistically responsive services. This annual requirement, set by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), helps us track and reflect on our progress in advancing behavioral health equity across our system.

Key areas of focus in the report include our commitment to cultural competence as a system of care, strategies for reducing disparities, efforts to grow a multicultural workforce, and enhancing language capacity to better serve our community. Additionally, the plan highlights our dedication to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) and trauma-informed systems within our organization.

This submission highlights the trends, challenges, and accomplishments of BHRS during fiscal years 2021 through 2024—a period marked by significant transitions as we collectively recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, welcoming new leadership, and prepare for statewide systemic changes.

We recognize this report reflects the lived experiences, needs, and resilience of the individuals and families we serve. These stories are a testament to the strength of our communities and the importance of equitable access to care. We also recognize the dedication and hard work of our BHRS team members and partnering organizations, whose efforts have a direct and meaningful impact on advancing equity and fostering healing within our communities.

Thank you, BHRS, for your unwavering commitment to fostering equity, inclusion, and belong in behavioral health care. Together, we are making a difference.

View the updated plan here.

To stay connected and actively participate in these efforts, we encourage you to:

  1. Join our BHRS Office of Diversity & Equity email listserv
  2. Attend one of our Health Equity Initiatives monthly meetings

Let’s continue to work together to create a healthier, more equitable future for all.

Written by Frances Lobos, San Mateo County BHRS Office of Diversity & Equity

Parent Project Celebrates a Successful 2024!

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Last Fall, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services’ Office of Diversity and Equity (BHRS ODE) hosted 3 Parent Project® classes. In partnership with StarVista, we hosted on virtual English class, facilitated by Ivan Marquez and Jackie Cisneros and one virtual Spanish class facilitated by Leonela Zavalza and Karen Palomino Velazquez. This semester we also began our partnership with Community Alliance to Revitalize Our Neighborhoods (CARON), where we collaborated to host one in-person Spanish Course at the Half Moon Bay Library. We are beyond thrilled to have celebrated 61 new official Parent Project® graduates, and 13 participants, ultimately serving 74 parents and caregivers of San Mateo County!

This semester featured a lot of notable highlights for the Parent Project® program, one of them being that all of our classes received a presentation from Alcohol and Other Drug’s (AOD) department’s Dr. Ronni Brown, Alex Perez, and Gabriel Lemus. The AOD Overdose Education & Response educated parents on the dangers of fentanyl, how to recognize an overdose, how to utilize Narcan, and how to access BHRS’ substance use services. AOD even distributed Narcan and Fentanyl test strips to our Parent Project® participants. The Office of Diversity and Equity would like to thank the AOD team for supporting the parents and caregivers of San Mateo County! In addition, BHRS ODE provided our general presentation introducing BHRS, our office at ODE, the Health Ambassador Program, as well as how to access Behavioral Health and Recovery Services. For the first time in Parent Project history, we had the Health Ambassadors, Cynthia Castro and Amada Espinoza, facilitate a Know the Signs Workshop, with the support of ODE’s Health Education Associate, Maria Martinez. Know the Signs is a training where participants learn to recognize the signs of suicide in another individual, and how to approach this concern via conversation and appropriate (BHRS) resources. We are so thankful to our Health Ambassador Program for helping our Parent Project® participants to initiate their journey to becoming prospective Health Ambassadors by providing a Know the Signs workshop at one of our Parent Project classes!

Finally, thank you to our partners at StarVista for celebrating our Parent Project® graduates and participants with in-person graduations featuring family activities and holiday raffles for Parent Project® participants to enjoy. We would also like to thank CARON for their in-person graduation featuring resources tables and presentations from the Half Moon Bay Library, Sheriff’s Activity League, Coastside Hope, City of Half Moon Bay, and San Mateo County’s Office of Community Affairs, and even a special visit from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, therapy dog, Maverick!

Here at BHRS ODE, we wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year! We look forward to seeing you at our Spring 2025 semester of Parent Project coming soon.

Written by Nicoletta Kelleher, Parent Project Coordinator

Meet ODE’s 2024-2025 Interns!

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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.  

14th Annual Turkey Trot: Bringing Together Physical and Behavioral Health

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Over 180 attendees joined Samoan Solutions and Pacific Islander Initiative in celebrating their 14th Annual 5K Turkey Trot this past weekend! Held on Saturday, 11/16/24, the event brought the community together to run the Turkey Trot to promote physical activity and wellness during the holiday season. In addition to the 5K run/walk, the event offered a variety of physical and behavioral health resources including Naloxone boxes for opioid prevention, Pacific Islander suicide prevention resources, an on-site chiropractor, free Hep B testing, and more! Since it’s inception this event has served as a space where participants can connect with health and social services, as well as Pasifika businesses, and the community. 

The Turkey Trot featured several categories, including adult, youth, and team groupings where winners were awarded a $20 gift card. The event provided a fun and inclusive atmosphere, warmly welcoming participants of all ages – even their four-legged family members.  

The Pacific Islander Initiative co-hosted the event and shared a variety of Pacific Islander focused resources including Pacific Islander suicide prevention cards, Know Your Rights cards in Tongan, and Pacific Islander Initiative brochures.  

Thank you to those who joined us, and we look forward to seeing you again next year! 

To learn more about our Health Equity Initiative, visit here. 
To learn more about our Pacific Islander Initiative, visit here. 

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