Tag Archives: Pacific Islander Initiative

3/22 – Adult Mental Health First Aid Hosted by Pacific Islander Initiative

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Please join us for an upcoming Adult Mental Health First Aid Training. 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.

Details of the training:

  • Date: March 22
  • Time: 9am-6pm
  • Location: Le Maota, 833 Mahler Road, Burlingame, CA

Whether you’re already familiar with mental health issues or new to the topic, this training will help you feel more prepared and comfortable in supporting those around you.

Registration link: bit.ly/MHSA-TCIP

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

Samoan Solutions 12th Annual Turkey Trot: Highlighting Community Care

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As we kick off the Holiday Season, I am reminded of the importance of community and how I was recently surrounded by the Pacific Islander community.  As a member of the BHRS Office of Diversity & Equity Pacific Islander Initiative, I did my first 5K at Samoan Solutions 12th Annual Turkey Trot for Charity at the Brisbane Marina in South San Francisco.  Despite the bone chilling morning air, many made their health a priority by running and walking the 5K event.

This year’s beneficiary was Soup 4 the Soul which is a family led effort to provide for the needs of San Francisco’s homeless community. 2022 is Soup 4 the Soul’s 8th year of offering hot soup and necessities for those less fortunate during the Thanksgiving holiday. Samoan Solutions is giving a portion of this year’s proceeds to support this local effort of paying it forward.

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

Written by Twila Dependahl (she/her), BHRS Office of Diversity & Equity

Happy AAPI Heritage Month: Updates from the Pacific Islander Initiative

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PII Co-Chair, Brittany Afu

This year, BHRS ODE’s Health Equity Initiative, Pacific Islander Initiative (PII) welcomes a returning co-chair, Brittany Afu, who is currently working with long-time partner, Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center. Luci Latu and Brittany have been focusing on rebuilding past partnerships and cultivating new ones to strengthen PII’s membership base.

Some of the initiative’s focus this year has been on COVID outreach – raising awareness around COVID testing, vaccines and linking families to COVID relief programs and services. Other focuses include outreaching for partner events and community classes, sharing information about services and completing community presentations to raise awareness on critical issues affecting the PII community.

Recently, the PII co-chairs presented to a class at UC Berkeley discussing Pacific Islander health disparities and how the initiative and other partnering agencies are developing strategies to address community needs. It is an ongoing effort, and we hope to make community impacts by filling future Parent Project courses, hosting Mental Health First Aid trainings and getting more families connected to needed care.

Blog written by Brittany Afu
Co-Chair of Pacific Islander Initiative of San Mateo County, 

To learn more about Pacific Islander Initiative and other health equity initiatives, visit SMCHealth.org/HEI.

The Health Equity Initiatives are funded through BHRS’ Office of Diversity and Equity. For more information click here.

To learn more about Pacific Islander Initiative, visit smchealth.org/pacific-islander-initiative.

August 24 – 2nd Annual Mental Health Open Mic at Philz

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On Friday, August 24th, please join us for the 2nd Annual Mental Health Open Mic at Philz in Westborough Square. 

First 50 to register via eventbrite will receive a free coffee that evening! 

We hope to see you there, and we especially hope to hear you speak at our open mic!

Know the signs, find the words, and reach out. Break the silence. 

 

Facebook event link can be found here. 

This event is hosted by Supervisor Canepa, District 5, The Office of Diversity and Equity, Pacific Islander Initiative, Filipino Mental Health Initiative, and Chinese Health Initiative. 

AANHPI Intergenerational Feast: Culture, Connection, Community | Sunday, 5/20

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For the first time, in celebration of San Mateo County’s (SMC) Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities, Chinese Health Initiative (CHI), Filipino Mental Health Initiative (FMHI), and Pacific Islander Initiative (PII) collaborate to host a free intergenerational feast for the community filled with delicious free food, inspirational speakers, raffles, and wellness practice performances. 

Historically SMC’s AANHPI communities have had few events to recognize and celebrate one another. The goal of this event is to bridge the SMC AANHPI communities across ethnicities/ generations to be empowered together towards wellness. The event aims to strengthen relationships  and break the AANHPI communities from their silos. 

Please RSVP for the event by May 16th by emailing Kristie Lui at kflui@smcgov.org or calling her at (650) 573- 5037. 

We hope to see you all there!

Event Flyer

Written by Kristie Lui, CHI Member 

FMHI and PII Collaborate to Host 1st Mental Health First Aid for API Community

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On Saturday, April 21st, the Filipino Mental Health Initiative(FMHI) and Pacific Islander Initiative(PII) welcome all to attend this upcoming Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training for the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. 

This training is the standard MHFA training, but also incorporates Asian- Pacific Islander (API) culturally-responsive material: giving participants an opportunity to learn about how to help friends and family members, who may be experiencing a mental health condition or crisis, and get certified.

This event is of huge importance for San Mateo County’s API community for a few reasons. SMC’s API community continues to have a lot of stigma around mental health; there remains a division between SMC’s API community; and there is not much available data and resources around mental health for the community. 

The goals of this event are to:

  • Decrease stigma around mental health in the API community
  • Build solidarity among APIs
  • Bring visibility to API communities to gain more data and resources around mental health Read more