Tag Archives: event

2/11 – AACI Presents: A Black History Month Celebration

Please join San Mateo County’s African American Community Initiative (AACI) for their 2023 Black History Month Celebration. The event is on Saturday, February 11th, 2023 from 10am to 2pm. In-person location is at Cooley Landing Center (2100 Bay Rd, East Palo Alto, CA 94303).

This event will be hybrid with an in-person limited capacity of 75 people. Registration is first come first serve, and you don’t want to miss out!

Scheduled presentations and activities include Black Mental Health, COVID-19 and Health Care in the Black Community, raffle prizes, live musical performances and poetry.

RSVP for the event here.

If you are interested to volunteer for set up, clean up, ushering, door monitoring, etc, please email dpennix@smcgov.org.

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

10/22 – 9th Annual Sana Sana, Colita de Rana

Please join us for our 9th Annual Sana Sana, Colita de Rana event that is co-sponsored by BHRS’ Latino Collaborative, ALAS, SMC Public Health, Policy and Planning, and the BHRS Office of Diversity & Equity. The event will be held on Saturday, October 22 from 11 am to 3 pm at Cunha Intermediate School, 600 Church Street, Half Moon Bay, Ca. This is a family-friendly event to promote health and wellness among our Latinx community in SMC. This event will be in Spanish with English interpretation. We are proud to share that our keynote speaker will be Olga Talamante. Ms. Talamante is a Chicana political activist, former Executive Director of the Chicana/Latino Foundation, and an individual that has dedicated her life to advocacy, social justice, and community service. Additionally, we will have a Covid-19 vaccination clinic, food, music, resource booths, presentations by our BHRS Health Ambassadors and so much more.  Please refer to the attached flyer for additional information.


This event is hosted by one of our BHRS Health Equity Initiatives (HEI). Our HEI’s were created to ensure that all members of our community are afforded access to services and quality care. The initiatives are dedicated to representing specific ethnic and cultural communities that have been underserved, inappropriately served, or unserved. Their work has assisted us in decreasing stigma, educating and empowering our communities, supporting wellness and recovery, building culturally responsive service, and being a bridge to our County services. Please help us post and share the attached flyers with your clients and networks.

Vaccine Info:

10/8 – NAMIWalks Your Way 2022

NAMIWalks Your Way 2022 is coming to San Mateo County for the very first time on Saturday, October 8th at Seal Point Park in San Mateo. NAMIWalks Your Way is an opportunity to unite and magnify mental health awareness across the country. We’re all in this together, and together we walk towards a future where Mental Health for All is a reality.  

Participate in person or virtually – or walk separately with a group of friends in solidarity. You can also create your own team or join the BHRS team!    

The event is open to people from all walks of life and will provide information on local mental health resources.   

Event details: 
Date: Saturday, October 8th 
Time: 9am-1pm (Walk starts at 10:15am)  
In-person Location: Seal Point Park (1901 J Hart Clinton Dr, San Mateo)  
Virtual Location to be announced. Check the link below for updates.  
Contact: Ginny Traub | ginny@namisanmateo.org | 650-393-3682 

More information and registration link can be found here.  

February 26: AACI’s Black History Month Event

The African American Community Initiative (AACI) Health Equity Initiative of San Mateo County BHRS’ Office of Diversity and Equity is hosting its Black History Month celebration on February 26, 2022 from 10am to 12pm as an online Zoom event.

Please register for this free event here.

Free virtual Mental Health Month event happening this week!

Mon, 5/10- 6:30pm-7:30pm | Museum of Mental Health
Location: Zoom (Registration Form
Details: Visit museum, located on the site of the 130-year-old hospital used as the filming location for the Academy Award-winning movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and now dedicated to education and fostering understanding of the many issues of mental illness, and helping to remove stigma.
Language: English
Contact: John Weaver | jnweaver@menlopark.org

Wed, 5/12- 1pm-2:30pm | Photovoice Panel Presentation by LEEW & Co
Location: Zoom Link or Dial 669-900-6833 (Meeting ID: 934 8070 2047 | Passcode: 207173)
Details: The Photovoice ‘Hope for Change’ project theme will encourage participants to frame their Photovoice stories around Hope, Resilience, Community Inclusion and mental health wellness. Their stories will share recovery and wellness journeys and processes in ways that will be clear, concise and connecting journals of human experience that will touch and engage members of the public.
Language: English
Contact: Jairo Wilches | JWilches@smcgov.org or Lee Harrison | LEHarrison@smcgov.org 

Wed, 5/12- 6pm-7pm | Meditation as an Approach to Handle Anxiety Uncertainty
Location: Via Zoom (Registration Form
Details: We’re living in a time that often feels confusing and stressful. People are more anxious and many experience a struggle to stay positive and true to our inner core. Through regular meditation, we can experience profound peace, bliss, and happiness.
Umesh Bhatia, a long-time meditator, will share the scientific research around meditation and offer a simple meditation technique you can use every day. We look forward to seeing you at this informative and centering experience.
Language: English
Contact: Jessic Ormonde | Ormonde@smcl.org

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1/27 – The Art of the Possible

San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) is pleased to present The Art of the Possible: Raising Resilient Children and Teens. This free virtual event is next week, on Wednesday, January 27th, from 5:30-6:30pm. There will be live Spanish translation during the event. More information in flyers below.

11/24 – Stigma Free San Mateo Spanish Workshop

Please share with your networks this event for a San Mateo Stigma-Free virtual workshop that the Office of Consumer and Family Affairs and Office of Diversity and Equity will be hosting in Spanish on Tuesday, November 24th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm.

This presentation will address the negative ideas and myths in regards mental health issues and substance use that often discourages or prevents people from seeking treatment, and how we can help reduce the stigma in our community.

 During these critical times, specially for our vulnerable communities, we reaffirm our commitment to bringing cultural appropriate access to BHRS available resources.

Feb 1st & 2nd | AACHAC Presents “An Evening with HeLa”

HeLa_OneSheet_Proof-1In honor of Henrietta Lacks and her contributions to the field of science, the African American Community Health Advisory Committee(AACHAC) partnered with San Francisco-Peninsula and the San Mateo County Health System, for an event that features a presentation with members of the Henrietta Lacks family. 

Henrietta Lacks is best known as the source of the first immortal human cell line that forms the HeLa line used for medical research. When Lacks died of cervical cancer in 1951, cells were taken from her body without her knowledge to form the HeLa cell line which has been used extensively in research since that time. Although other immortal cells have since been established, Lack’s HeLa cells are the standard in labs all around the world.

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Transgender Day of Remembrance: Join Us In Commemorating Trans Lives Lost To Violence

You are invited to join us for Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual event that aims to commemorate our transgender community members that have lost their lives due to brutal and unconscionable anti-transgender violence.TransgenderDayRememberance2017_DF-1

This event aims to raise public awareness of violence that transgender people face that often goes underreported or incorrectly reported in the news media, with those who are mentioned often misgendered or “deadnamed,” a term used to describe when a transgender person is referred to the name they were given at birth and no longer use. Transgender Day of Remembrance allows us to come together and publicly mourn our transgender siblings as well as find strength within each other as we mobilize to combat anti-transgender violence.

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