Behavioral Health & Recovery Services Blog

The Lived Experience Education Workgroup (LEEW) held a summer social earlier this month. Fruit and ice pops kept everyone cool, as we took turns asking ice breaker questions such as, “What would others be surprised to know about you?” and “What three words would you use to describe yourself?”. Read more

By Austyn Lee, Office of Diversity & Equity Summer Intern

On Tuesday, July 25^th, the African American Community Initiative (AACI) gave a presentation entitled “Conversations about Black History Year” at the Board of Supervisors Meeting in the Redwood City Hall of Justice and Records.

The AACI is one of the county’s nine Health Equity Initiatives (HEI) that address racial, ethnic, and cultural disparities within BHRS. AACI aims to be a resource for African American community members who experience disparities in access to and quality of care in our county. Read more

Wednesday, July 5^th marked the 100^th Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) session for San Mateo County’s Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Office of Diversity and Equity. The YMHFA training took place at Puente de la Costa Sur in Pescadero.

Puente is the only Community Resource Center serving San Mateo County’s rural South Coast. According to a recent report prepared by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation in February 2017, the South Coast is “home to about 2,950 largely marginalized and isolated residents, mostly Latino farm and nursery workers and their families, as well as low-income Caucasian residents.” Considered that the South Coast is the Bay Area’s most rural zone, communities in the region have no emergency room, public library, public park, childcare center, affordable grocery store, laundromat, sewage system or flood control system. Read more

Last week, San Mateo County BHRS and partner organizations traveled to Sacramento for the annual Community Prevention Initiative (CPI) Regional Trainings hosted by the Center for Applied Research Solutions (CARS).  This year, the CPI Regional Trainings theme is Cultural Competence, a guiding principle of the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF).  If you would like a copy the conference presentations and resources contact Colin Hart at chart@smcgov.org.

The breadth of presentations was far reaching to include topics such as:

• Gathering Culturally Competent Data & Culturally Competent Evaluation
• Strategies for Gathering Culturally Competent Data for American Indian/Alaska Native Populations
• Youth Culture & Substance Use Disorder Youth Panel
• Creating Culturally Competent Substance Use Disorder Prevention Services for LGBTQ Populations
• Cultural Competency in Working with Immigrant and Refugee Populations
• Cultural Competency SUD Prevention Services for Native Populations
• Preventing Substance Use Disorders in Rural California

Read more