Tag Archives: Health Equity Initiative

Youth Leaders Share Mental Health Advice to Parents at “What I Wish My Parents Knew” Forum

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In honor of Suicide Prevention Month, BHRS Office of Diversity & Equity’s Chinese Health Initiative partnered with Belmont, Redwood Shore, San Carlos Chinese Community  (BRSCC), and Star Vista’s Health Ambassador Youth Program to host the “What I Wish My Parents Knew” forum on Saturday, September 16, 2023.

The successful forum was led by San Mateo County youths Xin Xin Cai, Anthony Lee, and Anastasia Yang, with over 50 participants of parents, caregivers, and allies. As a way to ensure this forum was accessible to our communities, it was provided in English with Cantonese and Mandarin interpretation.

Youth leaders addressed mental health questions using their lens of the Chinese-American culture and provided insightful advice to parents and mental health clinicians in the audience. They identified the top reasons for not wanting to share about their mental health were stigma and not wanting to worry their parents. One piece of advice offered to address this challenge was for parents and caregivers to talk to teens about their mental health in ways that support teens as independent individuals such as giving them time and space.

To learn more about the Chinese Health Initiative, visit SMCHealth.org/CHI and follow them on Facebook.

Written by Alyson Suzuki, Chinese Health Initiative Co-Chair and Kayla Tolentino, BHRS’ Office of Diversity & Equity

11/4- 10th Annual Sana Sana Colita de Rana

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Please join us for our 10th Annual Sana Sana, Colita de Rana event that is co-sponsored by BHRS’ Latino/a/x Collaborative, ALAS, Spiritualiy Initiative, Native Indigenous People’s Initiative, and BHRS’ Office of Diversity & Equity.

Date/ time: Saturday, November 4th, 2023 from 11AM-3PM

Location: South San Francisco High School (400 B Street, South San Francisco, Ca).

About the event: This is a family-friendly event to promote health and wellness among our Latino/a/x community in SMC. This event will be in Spanish with English interpretation for main events.

This year’s theme is “10 Años Sañando Juntos / Ten Years of Healing Together” to recognize our tenth year of holding this event and to reflect on how far we have come as a Latino/a/x Collaborative community.

We are proud to share that our keynote speaker will be Dra. Estela Garcia. Dra. Garcia has received numerous leadership recognition awards for her commitment to Chicano, Latino/a/x community. Additionally, we will have on-site health screenings, food, music, resource booths, and so much more.

This event is dedicated in memory of Hector Robles-Moncada, co-chair and co-leader of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Sana Sana. Hector Robles Moncada, who passed earlier this year.

For more information about this event visit SMCHealth.org/2023SanaSana

Pacific Islander Suicide Prevention Cards Available for Delivery

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Are you interested in our updated Pacific Islander Suicide Prevention cards? Click the pdf below to print or we can deliver it to your organization. If you are interested in having the cards delivered, please email Kristie Lui (she/her) at KFLui@smcgov.org.

These cards were developed by the Pacific Islander Initiative (PII). To learn more about PII, visit SMCHealth.org/pacific-islander-initiative.

PII-Suicide-Prevention-CardsDownload

10/10 – National Day of Prayer: Serenity for Behavioral Health & Understanding

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Join us for National Day of Prayer: Serenity for Behavioral Health & Understanding on Tuesday, 10/10 from 12pm to 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.

This event will be in-person with livestreaming. To register for the livestreaming, click here.

Flyers-National-Day-of-PrayerDownload

The Latino Collaborative Honors Diverse Community with New Name

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Hola Communidad, we have big news! As one of the Health Equity Initiatives (HEI) within San Mateo County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services (BHRS) Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE), the Latino Collaborative is now the Latino/a/x Collaborative.

Names are more than just names. Names reflect what we stand for and who we are. Therefore, it is with great orgullo (pride) that our members and leadership share this announcement. This re-brand acknowledges and embraces the diverse gender identities within our Latinx community, promoting inclusivity and respect for all individuals. Significantly, this shift reflects a commitment to recognizing and valuing the multifaced experience and expression of gender among and within Latinx identified individuals Latin American and Hispanic people.

Our Latino/a/x Collaborative strives to incorporate inclusive language into our communications to create an environment where everyone feels recognized, respected, and valued. We invite you to share your voice and support our efforts to uplift the voices of the Latino/a/ax community at our HEI monthly meetings. Meetings are currently the 4th Tuesday of the month from 3:30 pm to 5 pm via zoom. Additionally, BHRS clients, family members, and community members who attend an HEI meeting can receive a stipend for their time and expertise. For more information visit us at smchealth.org/latinoax Gracias!

Written by Gloria Cahuich Gonzalez, Co-Chair of Latino/a/x Collaborative

Why say “BIPOC” Instead of “Minority?

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Happy BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color ) Mental Health Awareness Month! The way we talk about things can often influence the way we think about them. In the field of mental health, we often talk about using  “person first” language. This is language that prioritizes the identity of individuals as human beings first over their mental health status (e.g. saying “person with schizophrenia” instead of “schizophrenic”). This concept should be used as well in the way we refer to communities. The use of “minority” labels BIPOC communities in terms of their quantity instead of their quality. The term “minority” also emphasizes the power differential between “majority” and “minority” groups and can imply “minority” is synonymous with inferiority.

Though “minority” may continue to be used in academic spaces, the words the mental health community uses should be mindful of how these terms create and perpetuate negative images and stereotypes of those that identify as BIPOC. By including “BI” Black and Indigenous in addition to “POC” people of color, we are also honoring the intersectional experiences of Black and Indigenous individuals and their communities, as well as the spectrum of existence and experience by POC.  

Learn more about  BIPOC Mental Health and San Mateo County BHRS’ Health Equity Initiatives.

Learn more about BHRS’ Office of Diversity and Equity here.    

Big Smiles & Beautiful Conversations at AACI and VoRSMC 23′ Juneteenth Celebration

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Thank you, all who joined us for African American Community Initiative (AACI) and Voices of Recovery San Mateo (VorSMC)’s 2nd annual Juneteenth Celebration on Friday, June 16th 2023.

Special highlights from this event include a resource fair which included or harm reduction table and Student National Medical Association (SNMA) at Stanford School of Medicine who provide health checks for the community. Musical selections were provided by Q Smith, Praise dancing performances were provided by SherOnMyPraise Ministries. and drumming provided by Onye Health and Well Being in Drumming. Thank you also Supervisor Noelia Corzo and Mayor Lisa Gauthier of East Palo Alto for attending and speaking.

The event also included a panel discussion focused on health and other topics. Panelists included Ja’Net Lawrence, Darris Young, Dwyane Aikens Jr., Bunmi Fariyike, Maximillian Bailey, Nnamdi Orakpo, MD, PhD, and Keon Pearson, MD/MBA.

This event was held virtually with approximately 130 people attending in-person and approximately 50 people attending online.

About African American Community Initiative
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.

PRIDE is in full effect for San Mateo County’s 11th annual pride celebration!

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On Saturday, June 10th San Mateo County celebrated its 11th PRIDE event with a fresh, new twist! This year San Mateo County had its first PRIDE parade. Starting at B street in downtown San Mateo and ending at Central Park, LGBTQIA+ community members were able to march and show their authentic selves with the likes of community organizations like the El Camino Reelers as well as a community-led marching band. The theme for this year’s celebration was “Free to be me in 2023”; which is important with the current climate. DJ China G and MC Jeremy Jones kept the crowd entertained with dance tunes and various activities including dance parties, raffles, and walking the runway. And you can’t forget the amazing community vendors that came out to feed our attendees some amazing food; including Tacos El Flamingo, Eats Meets West, Empanada King, and Mr. Softee!

Thousands of San Mateo County residents came out to celebrate, show support, and express themselves in their authentic skin. Older adults, younger generations, and everyone in between showed up and showed out for this cherished safe space. The County of San Mateo is a proud supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community and the support from our residents was beautiful to see. Behavioral Health Recovery Services (i.e. Heart & Soul/ Voices of Recovery/ San Mateo Pride Center/ Etc..) were out in full effect to provide mental health and equity resources to anyone in need. San Mateo County is proud to be an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community and are proud to have seen such a turnout at the PRIDE celebration.

Written by Kai Thornton (he/she/they), BHRS Office of Diversity & Equity

6/10 – SMC Pride Parade and Pride Celebration

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San Mateo County PRIDE Parade and Pride Celebration is 11 days away!

We hope you can join us on Saturday June 10th for the San Mateo County (SMC) Pride Parade, and after the parade come over to the SMC Pride celebration and celebrate Pride with us!! 

Friendly Reminder, if you are interested in having a contingent at the 1st Annual SMC Pride Parade, registration is currently open!! The SMC Pride Parade registration deadline is Friday June 2nd. Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to be a part of history and participate in the San Mateo County 1st Annual Pride Parade!

The 1st Annual SMC Pride Parade will be Saturday June 10th from 10am-11am, starting on 2nd B street and ending at San Mateo Central Park! The SMC Pride Celebration will be Saturday June 10th from 11am-5pm at San Mateo Central Park.

Registration to the Pride Parade is currently OPEN but will close at the end of the day on June 2nd.
Register Your contingent today using the link below.

https://forms.gle/Nfe8wghLqn5LcRbJ7

Let’s show up and show support in the first San Mateo County Pride Parade!!

For more info visit www.smcpridecelebration.com

PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR NETWORKS!

1st-San-Mateo-County-Pride-Parade-FlyerDownload

6/16 – 2023 Juneteenth Celebration: Discovering- Recovering Our Roots

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The African American Community Initiative (AACI) and Voices of Recovery San Mateo County (VORSMC) are proud to co-host our second Juneteenth Celebration on Friday, June 16, 2023.

The theme of this year’s Celebration is: Discovering-Recovering Our Roots:  The Continued Journey of Black Struggle

The event will be held in-person and streamed via Facebook Live and Zoom.  Register for the event via the QR Code on the flyer or this link: AACI BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION (constantcontactpages.com) 

As our country’s newest National Holiday, Juneteenth acknowledges and celebrates the final end of institutional slavery in the United States.

This year’s event promises to be inspirational, fun and educational, with a program that includes presentations from San Mateo County Supervisor Noelia Corzo, a Proclamation presented by City of East Palo Alto Mayor Lisa Gauthier, African drumming and storytelling, a panel discussion, cultural performances, health checks (blood pressure and glucose), a photo booth, music and dinner.

Please share this event with your networks.

FINAL-Juneteenth-EventDownload
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