wellness matters · jim stansberry of project 90. read more about jim and the david lewis award on...

Wellness Matters An E-Journal of San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services

Y o u r W e l l n e s s ♦ Y o u r W a y ♦ Y o u r C o m m u n i t y

September 2013

In this Issue: From the Director’s Desk

2

Recovery Month Sto-ries of Hope/Recovery

3

BHRS and Philippine Consulate sign MOU

5

MHSA Update 6

Recovery Month Proc-lamation

7

David Lewis Award 8

Veteran’s Treatment Court Graduates 1st Client

8

Suicide Prevention Week

9

Training & Education/Employee News/Employee Spotlight

10

Q-Tip for Quality 11

Parenting Project 12

North County Out-reach Collaborative

13

San Mateo County Celebrates National Recovery Month By Mary Taylor Fullerton, Member of the Recovery Month Planning Committee

September is National Re-covery Month- this nationally recognized event promotes the societal benefits of pre-vention, treatment, and recov-ery for mental and substance use disorders, celebrates peo-ple in recovery, applauds the contributions of treatment and service providers, and pro-motes the message that re-covery in all its forms, is possi-ble. Recovery Month spreads the positive message that be-havioral health is essential to overall health, that prevention works, treatment is effective and people can and do re-cover. In addition to following events, we celebrate Recovery Month by sharing stories of hope and recovery throughout this issue.

Each year, more than two dozen recovery and commu-nity organizations, local busi-nesses, and County Behav-ioral Health & Recovery Ser-vices plan celebratory events for Recovery Happens. These events have grown and gained county-wide support over the past 10 years, at times host-ing national leaders in the recovery field.

This year’s theme is: Join the Voices for Recovery—Together on Pathways to Wellness. The planning committee has crafted several events (two of which already happened) for

all the community to partici-pate. See the list of upcoming events on page 3. For more information about Recovery Month, visit www.smchealth.org/recoverymonth.

On August 6, a Proclamation was issued by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors declaring the month of Sep-tember “Recovery Month in San Mateo County.” Supervi-sor Pine said, “Behavioral Health is a major component of the nation’s healthcare. We are fortunate in this county to have exceptional Behavioral Health and Recovery Services and very dedicated community based organizations.” The crowd was full of supporters, and Corina S. and Francisco S., two individuals in recovery, gave moving speeches (see their speeches page 7).

For the entire Month of Sep-tember, a Recovery Art Show will be held at the Caldwell Memorial Art Gallery, and Community Art Gallery at 400 County Center in Redwood City. Beautiful and inspiring works of art with a recovery theme created by individuals from all over San Mateo County will be featured – be sure to stop by.

The David Lewis Award was presented on September 4 to Jim Stansberry of Project 90.

Read more about Jim and the David Lewis Award on page 8.

On September 17, a Break-fast, March & Resource Fair will take place. A popular event each year, the recovery breakfast hosts of inspira-tional speakers and is a great way to start the day! This year, Sidney Davis will be sing-ing: Sidney won the Burlin-game Teen Idol contest and is dedicated to the recovery community (look for her story on page 4). 7:00 am - Breakfast at

Bridges 8:45 am - Philomena Walk

of Hope. We will join to-gether and march to County Center. This year, the march is titled in honor of Philo-mena Ashford-Anderson, a dear member of the San Mateo County recovery com-munity who was recently killed at her home.

9:00-11:00 am - Resource Fair at 400 County Center, Government Plaza, Red-wood City. This is a great opportunity to check out the wide array of community resources we have here in San Mateo County – a great place for new employees, and those who’ve been around a while, to come check out what’s out there—

(Continued on page 14)

September is National Recovery Month!

Join in San Mateo County’s month-long celebration.

See page 3 for details.


From the Director’s Desk - Stephen Kaplan, Director, BHRS

Stephen Kaplan

An Essential Health Coverage Benefit: Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment

As we move closer to Janu-ary 1st and the implementa-tion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) it becomes clearer that the advocacy around and the inclusion of prevention and treatment for mental health and substance use conditions as an essential benefit was astute and wise public policy. There is a growing under-standing of the relationship between behavioral and physi-cal health conditions. We have known for the past several years that persons living with a serious mental illness live 25 years less than the general public and that for persons with co-occurring disorders, the lost years is even greater.

A recent report published in The Lancet “Global burden of disease attributable to mental and substance use disorders: findings from the Global Bur-den of Disease Study 2010” concluded that mental and substance use disorders were the leading cause of non-fatal illness worldwide in 2010. The study also found: mental and substance use disorders were together responsible for more of the global burden of death and illness than HIV/ AIDS and tuberculosis, diabetes, or transport injuries.

Depressive disorders ac-counted for the largest propor-tion of this burden, around two fifths (40%).

From the 10 – 14 year age

group onwards, girls and women had a greater burden of death and disease from mental disorders than did boys and men, whereas men had a greater burden from drug and alcohol dependence in all age groups.

Professor Harvey Whiteford one of the co-authors of the study stated, “Despite the personal and economic costs, treatment rates for people with mental and substance use disorders are low, and even in developed countries, treatment is typically provided many years after the disorder begins. In all countries, stigma about mental and sub-stance use disorders con-strain the use of available resources as do inefficiencies in the distribution of funding and interventions. If the bur-den of mental and substance use disorders is to be re-duced, mental health policy and services research will need to identify more effective ways to provide sustainable mental health services, espe-cially in resource constrained environments.”

A second study published in The Lancet “First analysis of global drug dependence re-veals opioids responsible for the greatest burden of death and illness” also reaffirms the importance of behavioral health treatment. The re-searchers found that disability and illness caused by the four drugs studied (amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine, and opioids (such as heroin) has

increased by over 50% be-tween 1990 and 2010.

Findings such as these al-ways confirm what our con-sumers/clients, family mem-bers and providers know and experience each and every day that the road to recovery requires careful attention to how one’s physical health, behavioral health and socio-economic conditions inter-twine.

The implementation of the Affordable Care Act provides us great opportunity to im-prove care coordination within our Health System, with the Health Plan of San Mateo and with our excellent network of community providers so that one day we will provide evi-dence contrary to what the studies mentioned above (and others) have found, that our clients/consumers have life expectancies equal to that of the general population and their quality of life is indistin-guishable from that of their neighbors. It can happen!

In 2011, eight million adults reported having co-occurring disorders, meaning they have both a mental and a substance use disorder.

Serious mental illness is associated with an estimated total eco-nomic cost of $317 billion per year.

In the United States, a person dies from suicide every 15 minutes. In 2011, 20.6 million people aged 12 or older were classified with

substance dependence or abuse in the past year. In 2011, 19.3 million people aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem, but did not receive treatment at a specialty facility in the past year.

Depression Across the Lifespan

Thursday, October 10 6:30 - 9:15 pm Keynote Speaker: Brian Copeland—actor, comedian, radio talk show host, playwright, author and star of the one-man show “The Waiting Period.”

In honor of National De-pression Screening Day, the purpose is to raise public awareness of depressive disorders. UCSF faculty will discuss the latest findings on identifying and treating depression across the lifespan.

UCSF Mission Bay Cam-pus, Byers Auditorium, Genentech Hall Building 600 16th Street, San Francisco No reservations required. No admission Fee. For more info call 415.476.7755. psych.ucsf.edu/events/depression2013/

September 2013

Wel lness Matters

San Mateo County National Recovery Month Events September 1-30 Recovery Art Show Caldwell Memorial Art Gallery and Community Gallery 400 County Center Redwood City

September 17th Kickoff Breakfast & The Philomena Walk of Hope 7:00 am - Breakfast 8:45 am - March to County Center Bridges Program 680 Warren Street Redwood City

Resource Fair 9:00 am - 11:00 am 400 County Center Redwood City September 26th: Recovery Happens Picnic & Celebration 11:00 am - 2:00 pm Flood Park 215 Bay Road Menlo Park Call Voice of Recovery at 650.802.6552. September 28th: Film Screening: The Anonymous People 6:00 pm Friendship Hall 416 Second Ave San Mateo 9:00 pm Recovery Dance to follow screening. To purchase tickets: Con-tact Lee at: [email protected]. For more info, visit the Recovery Month website: www.smchealth.org/recoverymonth

I am an Addict I am a heroin addict. I was

born addicted! I followed in the footsteps of my mother and father. I didn’t have a chance. I started my using career by the age of 14. I had been to many programs, jails and prison, but didn’t get to-tally clean until I was 33. That was the age that my mother died of cirrhosis of the liver, I never thought I would live this long. I thought I would die just like her. I wanted to die. I sold my soul to the devil by sticking needles in my arm and prosti-tuting myself. I was homeless. I stayed in cockroach infested hotel rooms in the mission district of San Francisco. I wasn’t living, I was existing. I hated myself and didn’t see any way out. I had no hope.

At the age of 28, I had a baby boy. I was clean then. He was born clean. But I relapsed shortly after that. He gave me a desire to change. I realized that I was living out my mother’s life. I am my mother’s daughter and I didn’t want to go out that way. I couldn’t abandon him. I wouldn’t abandon him, so I sought out recovery and I sur-rendered myself to God. He promised me total health and wellness and I turned my life around 180 degrees. Today I live. I have a home, a car and I am happy. I am worthy of the world. I work in recovery and give back what was given to me, and that is love. Today I am a recovering addict.

- Angela

Finding a Better Life I was diagnosed as bipolar,

with attention deficient disor-der and chronic depression 30 years ago. Even though I changed medications often, I still suffered. Having experi-enced several traumatic ex-periences, including working

in a very abusive environment, I lost all sense of self in an effort to be the perfect em-ployee. Acting in inappropriate ways, I was truly lost. Family and friends did not recognize or know me. I knew then that I was in trouble and needed to start a journey to recover my-self.

I left my job and returned home to California in 2008. I knew a better life was possi-ble for me if I could be the person that I knew myself to be. I started therapy but it and medication was not enough. My suffering continued. The day I was introduced to the Wellness Recovery Action Plan, known as WRAP, by Mary Ellen Copeland in 2010, my recovery began. WRAP gave me back the ability to create, live and manage my life. I had hope again knowing that I could have a fulfilling life regardless of my mental ill-ness.

I became a WRAP facilitator in 2011 and was introduced to Voices of Recovery of San Mateo County. It is my support community that helps to sus-tain my mental, physical, spiri-tual and emotional health. I am grateful that I belong to a community that is committed to the recovery, health and wellness of others.

- Rev. William Chester McCall, III

My Journey When I got to Women’s Re-

covery Association (WRA) in February 2012, I was con-vinced that I was probably not going to be able to get or stay sober. All I knew was that I was willing to try one more time. It was my last hope. I had lost my job the month before, and I was on the verge of losing my family.

I got to WRA without faith—not in myself, and not in a

power greater than myself. I found both while I was there. The compassion of the staff, both at Elms House where I lived, and at the Center, was the foundation I was able to stand on as I took my first wobbly steps toward the life I am living today.

I learned a couple of very important things while I was at WRA: If I am drinking and using I

am indeed powerless, but once I had been sober for some time, and I picked up, that was a choice. I have “choice” tattooed on the inside of my right wrist now. I am right-handed, and that was the hand I picked up with.

I, all by myself, am worth being sober for. Even if the husband and the children were to go away, I still want to be clean and sober. My life today is a gift. Not

just to myself, but to my fam-ily, friends, and the world at large. After all of the over-doses I did not die from, I truly believe that there is a reason why I am here – it is to help others in recovery, especially women, and especially the women at WRA.

I am very active in my own recovery by being a part of the alumni association at WRA and by keeping the commit-ment of bringing meetings to the ladies there, as well as sponsoring women still in treatment, which has been a huge honor.

My life is very full now. I work in social services as a benefits counselor, and am in school full-time pursuing my AA in Addiction Studies.

My older son lives nearby in San Jose. I see him at least twice a month, and he actually wants to spend time with me.


Recovery Month Stories of Hope and Recovery


My younger son lives in New Hampshire, but he is in con-tact almost every day. My hus-band doesn't worry today when his job takes him away from home for long stretches of time. He knows that when he goes away, I just do more service, and stay connected with other women in recovery.

My life is amazing today. Two and a half years ago, I jumped off a cliff in Half Moon Bay. Today I walk past that same cliff, and say a prayer of gratitude that I survived to share with other women how wonderful my life in recovery is. Thank you to WRA for literally saving my life, and for making my life the gift to others that it is today. I am a blessed woman. – Heidi P.

Raised in a Life of Addiction I am sixteen years old and

my family is an inspiration and an example.

As soon as I reached 2nd grade, I had come to the reali-zation that addiction would always be a part of my life whether it be for a recovering addict or a family member struggling. Being raised in an environment where people would come and go in and out of my house, Dad stayed locked away in his room and my mother was gone for good. I had to fend for myself and my sister left as she pleased because like the rest of my family, drugs were her first

Recovery Stories (Continued from page 3)

priority. There is so much more to

this story then just the overall facts that I’m telling of my life back then, and how drugs took my family captive as it does for any addict. My grand-mother, grandfather, aunt, uncles, cousins, stepmother, mother, father, and my sister all struggled with an addiction at some point in their lives, a few are still in need of help.

I go to meetings with my father and stepmother every now and then, learning some-thing new every time. When I go to these gatherings and meetings I find myself feeling as though no matter where you’re from, what your back-ground is or who you are, you are accepted. I learn from every story I hear and em-brace the surroundings as I find myself feeling at home with all these people I can call family.

Recovery has given my fam-ily back to me and is one of the bonds that we share. We are recovering together, and I’m grateful for that.

- Sidney Davis

Sidney is the winner of the Burlin-game Idol Competition. She ap-peared at the 21st Annual Burlin-game ArtzFest and will also ap-pear at the Recovery Happens kick-off on 9/17.

The Journey

After spending two-thirds of my life in the mental health system, it’s an honor to take part in the celebration of Na-

tional Recovery Month. The road out of the mental

health system is a difficult one--- out from under the blackness of bad doctors, hos-pitalizations and especially bombardments of medica-tions with horrible side-effects.

The painting below called The Journey is not just a depiction of the Journey out of the System, but of a place of spiritual enlightenment and the darkness of mental illness lifting. The dark purple is the gloom of both-- the pit of depression with various diagnoses and also the place of spiritual dimness of inner ignorance.

But! The Journey is fun! Like children finding a mud puddle and jumping in---mud squishing between little fin-gers and toes—without a thought of what lies ahead---mother waiting at home with a wash cloth. These are the feelings behind the handprints (mine) which splotches color in the rather monochromatic purple and white depicting the fun.

My journey is like all others of us, difficult and wrought with pitfalls and joys. But the better side of it is a reminder of brighter days and opportu-nities of which we have never dreamed. Yes! Remember the Fun! It’s at the top of the Pit. Paula Kathryn Petropoulos, age 62, in the System for 42 years


Schizophrenia

A stranger cackles into her ear

She whirls around but no one is here

She clutches her head in silence so loud

Alone in a room but envisions a crowd

A trick of the mind, a nightmare illusion

A foreign commander of newfound confusion

Poisonous words and whispers so vicious

She tries to ignore its sick, twisted wishes

For freedom she begs and she cries and she pleas

The voices just laughs as she sinks to her knees.

A maze of the mind, an invisible cage....

Shame for a girl of such a young age.

Robbed of her control, her sanity, her choice.

She curses her chains. She is now trapped by

...the voice.

- Tatyana Diaz

Previously a senior at Saint Ignatius High School Col-lege Prep and volunteer at Caminar’s Bridges to Well-ness Program in 2012.

“The Journey,” by Paula Kathryn Petropoulos.

September 2013

Wel lness Matters

Exposing Myself - For many years I tried to hide myself from you. From anyone who would recog-nize my fears and pain. I buried myself with an addiction that I lived and almost died for; In and out of prison and in and out of my family’s lives. Emotionally and spiritually, I was bankrupt. I lost myself completely. Yet I still had faith.

My connection to my soul, to my truth, and where I found peace of mind was through my writ-ing. My strength and love continues to come from my family. My mom, Evangeline, my son, Jor-dyn, my daughter, Channell, and her father Cornell support, motivate and inspire me every day.

Through the grace of God I came to WRA where I found courage to surrender and heal from the wreckage of my past, where hope is real and dreams come true. Thank you for sharing this mo-ment with me as I say goodbye to my addiction. Today I own my recovery (see my poem below). - Ruthie C.

Recovery Stories (Continued from page 4)

Freed from Addiction Your face is barely a glimmer now. It used to haunt me. Continually, painfully Floating in and out of my dreams Like some sick game of Now you see me, now you don’t Every morning I’d wake up Unbelieving…clutching at the hole That used to contain my heart Before your honeyed words And empty promises Ripped it…still beating… From my unprotected chest Your voice is barely a memory now Sometimes soft…most times demanding There was a time I would have given anything For a kind word…a soft whisper Some sign, anything that would

BHRS and Philippine Consulate Sign MOU

On August 14, the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco signed a Memorandum of Un-derstanding with BHRS in San Mateo County, where ten per-cent of the population is Fili-pino. This collaboration began more than four years ago, when staff at the consulate became certified as Mental Health First Aiders.

Stephen Kaplan said the MOU signing would legitimize all their efforts by way of sup-port from not only the council to help communicate with the people but also the Philippine Consulate office for its referral services.

“One of the three pillars of Philippine foreign policy is the protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare and

interest of Filipino overseas,” said Jaime Ramon T. Ascalon, deputy consul-general, “and we endeavor to promote the health and welfare of Filipinos overseas.” Mental Health Findings: Filipino American adoles-

cents have one of the high-est rates of suicide ideation and attempts in the US.

Filipino Americans have higher depression rate than other Asian American fe-males.

Filipino Americans have higher depression rates than the general US popula-tion.

Filipino Americans seek mental health services at much lower rates even

when compared with other Asian-American groups.

75% of Filipino Americans have never used any type of mental health service.

See link to full story below.

globalnation.inquirer.net/83317/sf-consulate-san-mateo-county-sign-accord-to-aid-mentally-distressed-fil-ams

Daly City officials and representatives of the Philip-pine Consulate of SF. From left: Ronnie Ferrer, protocol officer, Philippine Consulate; Deputy Con-sul-General Jaime Ramon T. Ascalon; Daly City Mayor Ray Buenaventura; City Council Member Mike Guingona; Stephen Kaplan, BHRS Director.

Have told me you cared… I’m glad I didn’t hold my breath… I can breathe now… I still have to focus on it In…out…inhale…exhale… But I’m doing it Without you…not because of you I no longer feel like I’m drowning Unable to breathe under this flood Of involuntary tears that still Slip out every now and then I’m learning…I’m growing… I now can see a future without You in it, without it being Tinged with despair You hurt me, But you didn’t break me I stand without you. But I’m not alone I am better…wiser…stronger. I will go on One day I’ll even forget your name


6th Annual Housing

Hero Awards

Honoring community partners who have dem-onstrated exceptional leadership in providing and/or maintaining hous-ing for individuals with co-occurring needs.

Thursday, October 3rd 3:00 - 4:30 pm Redwood Shores Library Community Room 399 Marine Parkway Redwood City

Organized by the SMC Change Agent Housing Committee

The meeting space is provided as a community service by the City of Redwood City. The City neither sponsors nor endorses this event nor the presenting individual or organizations.

Results of Statewide Audit A year ago, Senator Darrell

Steinberg, advocate for men-tal health services and co-author of Proposition 63, asked the California State Legislature to authorize an audit of MHSA funds and per-formance outcomes. The audit would focus on the state agen-cies overseeing MHSA pro-grams as well as the perform-ance of MHSA programs in four counties. Findings

Audits were conducted in Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Sac-ramento and San Bernardino Counties. After an estimated 4,500 person-hours, the Cali-fornia State Auditor released her audit (http://www.bsa.ca.gov) on August 15. Highlights include:

“The Department of Mental Health (DMH) and the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (OAC) did not provide the over-sight needed to demonstrate whether the MHSA is effec-tive.”

“DMH required counties to report extensive MHSA data,

but the data was incomplete and of limited value in meas-uring MHSA program effective-ness.”

Overall, the audit found that the three state oversight bod-ies, the DMH, the MHSOAC and, to a lesser extent, the Department of Health Care Services (which assumed re-sponsibility for MHSA after the DMH was reorganized in 2011) did not do enough to ensure that funds were well spent and contributing to the goals of the MHSA. So, what does this mean? Despite the headlines, the

audit did not find misspending or ineffective programs. What it found was a lack of finan-cial, information technology and performance oversight systems. For example, state entities did not visit counties to conduct financial audits, did not set up information systems that worked across counties, and did not issue guidance for performance measures for prevention pro-grams.

In large part, this audit was a response to several media reports that questioned the

use of MHSA funds for preven-tion activities like equine ther-apy, yoga, meditation and a garden where immigrants could connect with one an-other and access mental health services. While the me-dia questioned the value of the garden, the UC Davis Cen-ter for Reducing Health Dis-parities recommended gar-dening as a prevention strat-egy for Hmong immigrants, one of the target populations for this strategy. So clearly, there’s a need for continued public education about pre-vention programs, mental health issues, and the need for culturally relevant services. What’s next?

The OAC plans to conduct 25+ programmatic evalua-tions over the next five years. While this is a substantial work effort to counties and partners, we look forward to contributing to this important and groundbreaking body of knowledge. If you have any questions about the impacts to San Mateo County pro-grams and partners, please contact me at [email protected] or 650.573.2889.

Sheena Sattarpour, MFTI, and Mental Health Clinician for the StarVista Insights and Starvista Family and Children Collaborative Programs pre-sented on Cyberbullying and Bullying Behaviors at The Ox-ford Symposium in School-Based Family Counseling at the annual conference of the Institute for School-Based Family Counseling. The Sym-posium is co-sponsored by the University of San Francisco Center for Child and Family Development and the home of the Symposium is at Brase-nose College, Oxford; the next

conference is scheduled in 2014 at Robert Black College, Hong Kong University. The Institute for School-Based Family Counseling exists to promote the development of School-Based Family Counsel-ing as a discipline through culturally informed programs educating mental health pro-fessionals, educators, and the general public on the nature and value of School Based-Family Counseling. The Uni-versity of San Francisco Cen-ter for Child and Family Devel-opment is committed to the academic, psychological, so-

cial and spiritual development of children and families through teaching, research and direct service programs in School-Based Family Counsel-ing; the purpose of the Center is to provide children and families (particularly under-served children and families) with a variety of culturally sen-sitive family counseling ser-vices. Further information regarding the Oxford Sympo-sium can be directed to Sheena Sattarpour at: [email protected].

- Clarise A. Blanchard, StarVista

Mental Health Services Act Update - Amanda Kim, Manager of Strategic Operations

The Oxford Symposium in School-Based Family Counseling

September 2013

Wel lness Matters

Board of Supervisors Issues Recovery Month Proclamation The following youth shared

their stories the at the Board of Supervisors Meeting on August 6.

In the past, I lived a life that was filled with wrong deci-sions that involved criminal activity and substance abuse. In 2012, I was sentenced un-der AB-109 and assigned to the post release community supervision probation unit here in San Mateo County.

I was encouraged by my pro-bation officer to visit the Ser-vice Connect office and I was surely convinced that they were just another program that could not help me. The first day at Service Connect, they provided me with vouch-ers to meet my basic needs and also helped me to build a solid foundation in recovery. The staff and support groups encouraged me to work hard and stay determined in order reach my goals.

Since then I have completed outpatient treatment at El Centro, MRT with Service Con-nect, and my own personal WRAP plan with Voices of Re-covery.

As a result, I am employed by Voices of Recovery and assigned to work at the Ser-vice Connect Office, giving back to those who are in need of guidance just like I was. My children are now involved in my life and I am attending community college majoring in Human Services. Today I am proud to say that I have suc-cessfully completed probation and live my life as a produc-tive tax paying member of so-ciety.

I applaud the county for providing services like these to individuals who are in need of them.

- Corina S.

********** I started using marijuana at

about age 16, while attending Sequoia High School. I had a friend who sold drugs, and I got involved with selling and using. Eventually, I got caught and was expelled. I did a week in juvenile hall and an elec-tronic monitoring program.

After that, I went to Commu-nity School South, where I met Daniel, a substance abuse counselor for teens from El Centro de Libertad.

Daniel got me involved in their Youth Advisory Board for the next year and a half, and we worked on projects about environmental prevention.

We created a photo voice video R City as we See It, about seeing our community in Redwood City through the eyes of youth. Mostly looking at how easy it is for youth to get alcohol and drug related items in our community. I also learned community leadership skills at the Kiwanis Key Leader training.

Today, three years later, I’m involved with the Youth Lead-ership Institute and Yo Mateo.

We’re working on the Las Tienditas - Healthy Corner Store Make Over campaign where build relationships with store owners in low-income, isolated communities, and encourage them to participate in a store make-over to re-

move ads for alcohol in these targeted communities.

Also, we work with the store owner to offer more healthy, fresh produce instead of junk food.

I’ve also been going to Cañada College for about a year now and will begin a Kinesiology program. Eventu-ally, I want to transfer to San Jose State to complete the Kinesiology health program.

Before, when I used to do drugs and eat lots of crappy food, I wasn’t paying attention to what my body really need-ed. I was told I had high blood pressure and was at risk for heart disease. I’ve learned a lot, and made a commitment to staying sober, staying healthy and getting in shape.

Being involved in all of these different county funded pro-grams has helped keep me sober and on the right path. But there are still lots of youth out there who are bored, do-ing drugs and stuck in this cycle. We need to help these kids think about their future, we need more youth programs designed to get kids involved in worthwhile activities. One day, I want to help other peo-ple, and make my community a healthier place. - Francisco S.

Supervisor Dave Pine, Corina S. (holding proclamation) , Francisco S. and Stephen Kaplan, BHRS Director at the Board of Supervisors meeting, August 6.

¡Sana, Sana, Colita de Rana!

Take care of yourself today for a better

tomorrow 1st Annual Latino

Health Forum

Saturday September 21, 10:00—2:00 pm

Free Family Event encouraging health change! (presented in Spanish with English translation)

Workshops will be pre-sented on healthy eat-ing, physical activity, mental wellness, and substance use; fun activities for kids; and meet Flavio Lacayo!

Fair Oaks Community Center 2600 Middlefield Rd, Redwood City

For event details visit: www.smchealth.org/sanasana


Veteran’s Treatment Court: Pomp and Circumstance

David Lewis was a remark-able man who transformed the recovery community, and East Palo Alto in particular, through his inspiring work with addiction and criminal justice. The David Lewis Award was presented at the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Recovery Commission on September 4. 2013 Recipient: James Stansberry

Jim Stansberry, one of the co-founders of Project Ninety, Inc., became the Executive Director of the organization in 1989. Since its founding more than 40 years ago, more than 20,000 people have walked through the doors of Project 90.

Graduates of Project 90 have gone on to lead meaningful and productive lives. They have become better sons, daughters, parents, co-workers, mentors and role models. Countless friends and families have been touched and enriched because of the services and support that Jim and the program have be-stowed upon them. Many alumnae are now woven into the fabric of the entire recov-ery community throughout San Mateo County and be-yond.

Jim has served as a mentor and supporter to several other programs here in the County. He generously shares his ex-

perience, insights and re-sources to help other pro-grams get established. Jim’s contribution to the quality of life in our community is unpar-alleled. He is a true champion in the recovering community.

David Lewis Award

The Veteran’s Treatment Court (VTC) of San Mateo County, under Honorable Judge John Grandsaert, gradu-ated its first client last month in open court, as well as cele-brated their one-year anniver-sary.

David, the graduate, re-ceived some inspiring words from the Judge, a gift card to a local eatery, and the charge that brought him under the supervision of the Probation Department expunged and sealed from general inquiries; one potential benefit for suc-cessful clients of the court. Michael Leon of Probation, who has been with the court since its inception, has this to say about the graduate, “While in VTC, David has been his strongest advocate. The key to his success has been remaining connected to the VA recovery community as well as reaching out and supporting other veterans.”

The Veteran’s Treatment Court offers another option for

probationers, who are also veterans, and have a diagno-sis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), sexual trauma and/or substance abuse or other mental health issue. The support network provided by the county, De-partment of Veteran’s Affairs (VA), and staff of mentors led by Derrick Felton of the Penin-sula Vet Center can ensure clients stay on track with both their treatment and terms of probation.

Basic eligibility requirements of the VTC are: a) Must have a prior or current membership in the United States Military and be eligible for VA benefits, b) Must have a mental health and/or substance abuse diag-nosis or trauma-related issue that stems from military ser-vice, and c) Must be eligible for probation within the county and not considered to be a danger to the community.

“As an alumnus, David will hopefully remain connected

and inspire others,” exclaims Officer Leon. For more infor-mation, contact Myra Weiher at the Private Defender’s Of-fice, Ramona Gabriel with the Probation Department, or David Grillo of the Menlo Park VA. Learn more about at the VTC webpage.

- Andrew White Veteran’s Treatment Court

Jim Stansberry

Spirituality Matters: To have hope means to look forward with confi-dence. Does that mean that

everything will turn out the way you want it to?

Not exactly. Looking forward with

confidence means that you feel assured that you will face whatever comes. You believe that no mat-

ter what happens, you will be OK.

How can you know this? If you look at how you

are defining “OK”-ness, you may find that being OK is an inside job. Despite what happens

on the outside, inside yourself you remain strong and centered. OK-ness may not be

restored right away, but over time you are confi-dent that you will regain your footing. You can also hope in

ways that you create for yourself. You can hope that you

always treat others with kindness and respect. And by your actions, you

make those hopes come true. Having hope can come

from knowing you are connected to others who support you. Cultivating a hopeful

spirit is a valuable prac-tice that we can achieve one day at a time. Join the Spirituality Initia-

tive on the 4th Tuesday of every month, 12:30-2:00 PM, 2000 Alameda de las Pulgas, Suite 200, Room 201, San Mateo. Get your hope on!

- Chase Montara

HOPE

September 2013

Wel lness Matters

Suicide Prevention Initiative: Join Us Monday September 9th 9:30 am - Noon 1300 S. El Camino Real San Mateo

I recently came across some old research from an article in California Med titled Suicide in San Mateo County, pub-lished in 1967. I opened it accidentally, and was about to quickly close it (again) until something caught my eye.

It stated that the suicide rate in San Mateo County (SMC) was 17 per 100,000 between 1961 and 1965 when the study was conducted. At the time this rate, although con-sidered high, was about on par with the rest of California. The article stated the inci-dence of suicide was dispro-portionately higher among adults over 65, women, and Asians. The San Mateo County of 1965 was much smaller and far less diverse with 488,000 inhabitants, 95% of whom identified as White. The County of 2012 is larger - 718,451 individuals - with 41.6% identifying as White, 25.4% Latino, 26.4 % Asian, 3.1% African American, and 1.6% Hawaiian and Pa-cific Islanders. The article also referred to the County as “youthful,” with 7% over the age of 65. Estimates for 2012 indicate a doubling in this age category

I was struck with not only the changes in the population, but the overall decrease in the suicide rate throughout Cali-fornia. Today, the county is in the bottom third of counties in suicides, below the current California average of 10.2 deaths per 100,000. The ad-justed suicide death rate in San Mateo is 8.9 per 100,000 (95% confidence limits).

Although it can seem like things never change, the sui-cide death rate in San Mateo has been cut in half in less then fifty years.

It is not always easy to deter-mine how and when interven-tions are effective. Estimating suicide is also challenging in

that shame and stigma might also hide some suicide deaths due to non-reporting or inac-curate reporting. Nonethe-less, in the last fifty year some prevention and intervention efforts are increasingly part of what we provide for basic ser-vices and have likely contrib-uted to making San Mateo a “suicide-safer” community.

The San Mateo County Crisis Center (part of Star-Vista ser-vices) was founded by Char-lotte Ross in 1966, the year before the journal article was published. Ms. Ross was “one of the pioneers” of the crisis movement, and the current San Mateo Crisis Line was one of the first created in the US. Today, the Crisis Center takes 15,000 calls annually, and is a reliable 24/7 resource for those in acute and ongoing crisis.

Additionally, the Crisis Line is accredited by the American Association of Suicidology, held to nationally recognized performance standards, and has access to the most recent and effective evidence based suicide prevention care.

The county was an early adopter of the Applied Suicide Intervention Training Skills (ASIST) model for suicide in-tervention; for almost 20 years, the County has trained individuals in this evidence-based practice. The model can be used by clinicians and non-clinicians alike and cur-rently is being used to train providers and community members internationally. The two day training gives partici-pants the skills to know how to ask about and intervene around suicidal behavior. Since 2010, about 400 indi-viduals have been trained in ASIST with funding provided by the Mental Health Services Act. Regional ASIST training and resources have been pro-vided statewide as well, help-

ing to reinforce local training efforts. Having more people willing and able to talk about suicide helps to get support to those who need it and in-creases the overall likelihood that someone in crisis will feel safe enough to ask for help.

Overall, stigma reduction efforts have helped normalize issues around suicide and create more willingness to discuss the issues. Stamp Out Stigma (SOS) was started in the county over 20 years ago and now travels through-out the Bay Area. SOS pro-vides panels of consumers trained to speak to the com-munity about their experience with behavioral health issues, breaking down the secrecy which might prevent an indi-vidual from asking for help. Currently, the California Men-tal Health Services Authority (CalMHSA) has provided state-wide media campaign to edu-cate the community and shat-ter the silence around suicide. CalMHSA has funded national magazine ads, billboards and PSA designed to encourage individuals to ask for help. Most recently, Stigma-Free San Mateo is initiating pro-gramming that provides indi-viduals the opportunity to challenge their own stigmatiz-ing thoughts and build an in-creasingly stigma-free commu-nity. Join Us on September 9th

Be a part of this movement to build “suicide-safer” com-munities. Join us as we honor Suicide Prevention Week. We’ll be discussing best prac-tices in suicide prevention and intervention and will have re-sources from the San Mateo Crisis Center and the Veterans Administration Suicide Preven-tion Team (see right for de-tails).

- Kristin Dempsey

Suicide Prevention Week: September 8 -14

FREE Community Event: September 9th 6:00 - 7:30 pm Foster City Community Center 1000 E. Hillsdale Blvd. Foster City

The stigma of mental illness and substance use often discourage or prevent people from seeking treatment.

Join us to learn more about stigma, the new Stigma Free San Mateo County campaign and how you can help.

To RSVP, or for more information, e-mail: [email protected]


Training & Education

Psychiatric Grand Rounds 12:15 - 1:30 pm Health Services

Building, 225 37th Avenue, Room 100, San Mateo “Self-Care for Mental Health Professionals: Integrating Mindfulness Into Clinical Work” Tuesday, September 24 Presented Paul Yang, MD, Staff Psychiatrist, BHRS MyAvatar Hands-On Trainings Friday September 6 & 23: 8:30 - 9:30/9:30 - 10:30:

myAvatar Basics/Navigation 10:30 -12:00: Support with

MH Admin/PM functions 12:30—1:00: MH Drop-In,

Problem Solving, Q&A 1:00 - 4:00: myAvatar for

AOD contractors 1st floor Computer Training Room, 2000 Alameda de Las Pulgas, San Mateo.

Employee News

therapists on board to meet the needs of County residents. I also ensure that current net-work providers are supported in the great work they do.

What do you enjoy most about your job? This job calls for you to pos-sess the ability to multi-task as services are provided concur-rently from Provider Relation, to Contract Management, to Accounting, to Customer Ser-vice. I enjoy the diversity of the position and the experi-ences I've gained, along with the opportunity to work with talented co-workers who are serving the needs of the com-munity.

Most rewarding/memorable experience: The most reward-

ing experience is knowing that every day, I am helping to pro-mote wellness and provide mental health services that support San Mateo County residents. Favorite hobbies/activities: Spending time with my wife and two kids is my favorite activity when not at work. Two of my passions are sports and music. If I'm not on a golf course (in my continued effort to break 80) you'll find me relaxing, listening to jazz (Coltrane, Miles, Monk).

“If I weren’t an Providers Rela-tions Coordinator, I’d be…” Working to introduce inner-city youth to the game of golf.

Brad Johnson Provider Relations Coordinator

Years at BHRS/SMC: 5 Years

Hometown: Foster City, CA

What do you do? I work with the mental health therapists in the Private Pro-vider Network. This includes outreach and developing con-tracts to bring new/additional

Employee Spotlight

Congratulations

Edmund Bridges (MHSARC member), Lee Harrison and

Nancy Wilson and on receiv-ing their Dual Certificates from the College of San Mateo.

Stephanie Coate, appointed to Program Specialist at EPA.

Diane Dworkin, appointed to Clinical Services Manager II, Adult and Older Adult Ser-vices.

Diana Hill, on her appoint-ment to AOD Supervisor

Mark Korwald, on his ap-pointment to AOD Analyst II

Paula Nannizzi, appointed to Health Services Manager I at AOD

Lorrie Sheets, on her ap-pointment to Health Infor-mation Technology Manager

Employee Service Awards

20 Years

Matilde (Mati) Brito, Youth Services Resource Management

10 Years

Byron Hudson, AOD

Wednesday, October 2nd 3:00 –5:00 pm

Health Service Building 225 W. 37th Ave, Room 100, San Mateo

MHSARC Meetings are held the first Wednesday of the month. Meetings are open to the public. For more information, please call 650.573.2544 or visit www.smchealth.org/MHSARC

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Recovery Commission

Contact Michele Friedman to sign up: 650.573.2668, [email protected]. Prevention & Management of Assaultive Behavior in Outpatient Settings—Preventing Aggressive Behavior Thursday, October 3 (Intro) October 17 (Advanced) 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Sobrato Community Confer-ence Center, 350 Twin Dol-phin Drive, Redwood City. Register via LMS. Intro class prereq for advanced class. Principles and Techniques of Motivational Interviewing Monday, October 9 - The Ba-sics Principles and Skills—(Silicon Valley Comm Found.) Monday, October 23 - Recog-nizing & Responding to Change Talk. (Sobrato Comm. Found.) 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Register

September 2013

Wel lness Matters

Critical Incident Reporting Changes and QM’s New Contact Info!

Changes have been made to make it easier than ever to submit Critical Incident re-ports! QM manages the re-ceipt and follow-up of all Criti-cal Incident Reports. These reports allow the BHRS Direc-tor and QM to review these events and find ways to ad-dress the issues raised by them. These reports help the Director to respond to cli-ent/family/media requests and enable QM to identify and assess risks within our sys-tem. Over time these reports contribute to the development of improved policies, proce-

dures, forms and educational programs. QM will share as needed with the BHRS direc-tors/upper management so no need to report to them separately.

Fax Critical Incident Reports (deaths, threats/assaults, AWOLs, high risk situations, dangerous adverse events and the like) to QM ASAP. For less urgent events, either PONY or fax them to us, or drop them off at our office if you’re nearby. The original hard (paper) copy of ALL Criti-cal Incident Reports should come to QM & no copy should be kept anywhere.

Critical Incident Reports are hard copy—they may be hand-

written or typed; they are con-fidential and should never be placed or scanned into a cli-ent’s chart. Document rele-vant clinical information about the incident in the client’s Avatar chart - but DO NOT document that a Critical Inci-dent Report was filed.

See Policy 93-11’s attach-ment-the Critical Incident form, and our 1 hour training on Critical Incidents (with 1 CEU) at the links below. QM’s new contact information: Fax: 650.525.1762 PONY: MLH 327 Address: 1950 Alameda de las Pulgas, Suite 157, San Mateo, CA 94403.

Q-Tip for Quality - Holly Severson, RN, MSN

Next QIC Meeting:

Wednesday

September 11th

10:00 am—Noon

2000 Alameda de las

Pulgas, Suite 200,

Room 201, San Mateo

Another outstanding confer-ence! The annual NAMI con-ference on August 16-17 in Burlingame was opened by California Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, a long-time advo-cate for mental health. He was presented with NAMI Califor-nia's Legislator of the Year award. Workshops covered significant, diverse topics in-cluding consumer empower-ment, MHSA PEI projects, sui-cide prevention, reducing dis-

parities in the strategic plan, NAMI's policy agenda, commu-nity policing, mental health courts, and preventive inter-ventions. The conference also included a screening of the film, Of Two Minds. Comments included how great it was to see the familiar faces of the MH community.

From legislators to filmmak-ers, legal experts to psychia-trists, to consumers and fam-ily members, the nearly 500 attendees at this year's NAMI

California conference came away inspired and re-charged. PowerPoint presentations from conference workshops are online for viewing and downloading at www.NAMICalifornia.org. The 2014 conference will be in Newport Beach on August 1 & 2.

2013 NAMI California Conference

Displaced Residents From Redwood City Fire Find Housing

Equity Residential hosted an open house recently at their Woodland Park apartments in East Palo Alto, for victims of the Hallmark House fire in Redwood City, where 97 resi-dents were displaced. Equity offered leases for 23 units,

waiving application fees and working with the Department of Housing to expedite the process.

Lee Harrison, Community Worker at BHRS, first ap-proached Equity about offer-ing housing for one or two

units and was pleasantly sur-prised when Equity offered leases for 23 units! If all 23 units are filled, only a handful of displaced residents in need of housing remain. Read the full story at the link below.

www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_23896804/equity-residential-offers-apartments-redwood-city-residents-displaced

Call

FAST

650-368-3178

24 hour, 7 days per week

For families who are con-

cerned about a member

of their family who is

showing signs and symp-

toms of serious emo-

tional distress, who have

no prior services or cur-

rent unsuccessful utiliza-

tion of services.

Providing Real Solutions

to Real Problems.

Critical Incident form: www.smchealth.org/node/602/ Critical Incidents Training: www.smchealth.org/sites/default/files/docs/BHS/QM/CriticalIncidentManagementMandatedReports2012/player.html


Parenting Project

NAMI Family to Family Education Program —in Spanish

12 week course starting September 11th 6:00—8:00 pm

Free for family members, spouses, friends of peo-ple who suffer from a mental illness. Topics covered:

Emotional stages Major Disorders Basics of the Brian Problem Solving

Skills Medications Inside Mental Illness Communication

Skills Self-care Recovery Advocacy Redwood City location TBD. No cost to attend. For more information con-tact Claudia Saggase at 650.573.2189.

The Office of Diversity and Equity has been offering the award winning, evidenced based Parent Project® since 2010, which helps parents and caregivers learn impor-tant skills in child rearing. The Parent Project is aimed at prevention, education, identifi-cation and intervention tech-niques to help families de-crease destructive behavior. The goal of this program is to increase protective factors and reduce risk factors associ-ated with substance use, school truancy, gang affilia-tion, violent behavior and poor family relationships. Staff have witnessed the success of this training program in bring-ing family’s together, assisting youth in reaching their educa-tional goals, helping schools address dangerous behavior and helping communities learn how to support their neighbor. This is a program that we believe starts healing families today and will teach

our children how to make good choices. As one graduate stated, “I see love in my family and it brought us together once again.”

The Parent Project is a free, 10-15-week course that is taught in English and Spanish for anyone who is caring for a child or adolescent. The classes meet for three hours each week where parents and caregivers learn parenting skills and find support from their communities. Specifi-cally, parents learn and prac-tice specific prevention and intervention strategies (i.e., appropriate ways to discipline, preventing or stopping alco-hol, drug and tobacco use, improving communication skills, grades and school at-tendance). BHRS supplies the materials, childcare and din-ners for the evening classes.

Evelia Chairez, one of our newest facilitators shared the following when asked about her decision to become a part

of The Parent Project: I have two daughters, age 19 and 14. A friend of mine invited me to a Parent Project graduation. I was really im-pressed hearing testimonies about how the program changed their lives. They were having conflicts with their teenage kids and some sto-ries were similar to my own.

When I received the invita-tion to be part of the training to teach the Parent Project class, believe me, it was the easiest decision I ever made. Now, I would like to share my experiences with another families.

See a list of upcoming classes below. For more infor-mation on registering for or hosting a class, visit the link shown below, or email me at [email protected].

- Maria Lorente-Foresti

Upcoming Parent Project® Classes

Free 11-week course offered in English and Spanish to anyone who cares for a child or adolescent. The classes meet for three hours each week.

Starts Thursday, September 5 (English) Cesar Chavez Elementary School, 2450 Ralmar Avenue, East Palo Alto Pacific Islander & African American Focused

Starts Wednesday, September 18 (English) North County Mental Health Clinic, 375 - 89th Street, Daly City

Starts Thursday, September 19 (Spanish) Coastside Clinic, 225 South Cabrillo Highway, Half Moon Bay

For more information about these and other free community education courses, visit www.smchealth.org/bhrs/communityed.

Community is Crucial: A Call for a Stigma Free San Mateo

From 2007 to 2010, 12% of people seeking treatment for illicit drug or alcohol abuse were deterred from treatment because they were concerned their community would have a negative opinion of them.

During the same time period, 8.0 percent of people were de-terred from mental health services treatment because they were concerned their community would have a negative opinion of them.

September 2013

Wel lness Matters

In our communities we often find that there are layers of obstacles preventing people from seeking services. Fear of the unknown, cultural beliefs, legal issues, previous bad experiences and being ashamed to ask for help. Too often we’ve seen stigma as a barrier to seeking help. The North County Outreach Col-laborative (NCOC) Community Outreach Team (COT) has hands-on experience with these challenges and utilizes this knowledge to make every opportunity to engage our communities on a personal level, while connecting them to the Mental Health and AOD services they need. Being pre-sent at events like Health and Educational fairs often is the introduction period where COT is able to meet and greet the community where they are at.

NCOC acknowledges that in order to support the variety of needs an individual has, we must work in partnership with a variety of supports offered throughout the county via BHRS and other community agencies to help reduce stigma and discrimination of mental illness and AOD prob-lems and increase awareness of resources that are avail-able. We know that in valuing a person for their individuality and acknowledging their need to build trust can facilitate communication and encour-age connections.

When awareness and re-sources are utilized like the Parent Project classes, Anti-

Stigma dialogue, PhotoVoice, Mental Health First Aid, and Digital Storytelling, our diverse communities become the ad-vocate for those services of-fered. We have learned that breaking down lifetime barri-ers does not happen over-night. We know that planting the seeds of awareness will blossom in its own time as long as we continue to water them with encouragement. An example of this is when COT was working with a family overwhelmed by a member’s psychiatric episodes. The family’s cultural beliefs were that a person who talked to themselves was simply acting out or possessed by spirits, so they did not believe that men-tal health or substance abuse was an illness. This was the starting point of dialogue around mental health and the beginning of their journey. Two years later the family is now actively participating in community events to learn about mental health and sub-stance abuse. A family mem-ber has now found their voice

through their experiences and actually for the first time talked about mental health and substance abuse amongst a room full of peers. From that powerful experience this person actually began to look at their life and has be-gun to take steps for their own wellness. They shared that “it has been a long process for me and my family and some days are better than others, but at least I am starting to think and talk about it.”

NCOC acknowledges that each experience is a learning experience on how to be more effective in engaging our di-verse communities and em-powering them with aware-ness. The North County Out-reach Collaborative (NCOC) consists of Asian American Recovery Services (AARS), Daly City Partnership, Daly City Youth Health Center, Pacifica Collaborative, and Pyramid Alternatives.

- Nani Wilson, Asian American

Recovery Services

NCOC Community Outreach and Engagement

Prevention Works

Research shows that for every $1.00 invested in prevention and early treatment programs, $2.00 to $10.00 could be saved in health costs, criminal and juvenile justice costs, educational costs, and lost productivity.

New Group:

Reflections: Thinking about Spirituality 2nd Tuesday of each month beginning September 10th

12:30-1:30 pm

2000 Alameda de las Pulgas, Suite 200, Room 201, San Mateo

Explore topics such as “What is Spirituality?”, “Hope,” “Gratitude,” “Listening as a Spiritual Practice” and “Being of Service to Others.”

All are welcome! Bring a bag lunch, share some snacks, listen to some readings, watch a video and share your spiritual journey with others. Let’s explore together how spiri-tuality gives meaning and hope to our lives.

Contact Chase Montara @ 650.533.4385 or [email protected] for more information.

225 37th Avenue, Suite 320 San Mateo, CA 94403 Phone: 650.573.2541 Fax: 650.573.2841 www.smchealth.org www.sanmateo.networkofcare.org/mh

Behavioral Health and Recovery Services San Mateo County Health System

To subscribe to Wellness Matters or to view previous issues, visit: www.smchealth.org/wm (To subscribe, click the red envelope at the top of the page.)

Forward comments, suggestions or contributions for Wellness Matters to Diane Tom, Editor: [email protected]

bring clients, consumers, yourself, your staff, come check it out!

One of our favorite events happens on September 26 when the Recovery month Picnic and Celebration will take place at Flood Park, 215 Bay Road, Menlo Park, from 11:00 am-2:00 pm. There will be a resource fair, activities, raffle prizes, proclamation reading and more!

This very popular event aver-ages about 500 people each year and only happens with your participation and dona-tions!

Planning on attending? Would you like to attend? Be sure to check with the plan-ning committee if you haven’t already about what you’d like to bring: [email protected]

Need more? What a treat we have planned. For the first time ever, we are hosting a

Recovery Month (Continued from page 1)

Film Screening of the nation-ally acclaimed The Anony-mous People and a viewing of Digital Stories of Recovery Journey’s from the Office of Diversity and Equity’s Digital Storytelling Series.

The Screening is open to the public: 6:00 pm, Saturday, September 28th at the Friend-ship Hall, 416 Second Avenue, San Mateo.

Seating will be limited, so RSVP is highly recommended.

Please email for group ticket sales: [email protected].

We hope you will join us for any or all of the above activi-ties, the Planning Committee has worked tirelessly to put

together a great line up this year – and we hope to see you there!

A final note of sincere appre-ciation to those individuals who help make this happen each year. Each of you who have been sitting around that table (or on the phone) every Wednesday lunch hour for the last several months deserves a BIG round of applause. Or-ganizing these important events is just one way to honor this challenging work and help support the ongoing effort we dedicate to our com-munity’s recovery. THANK YOU!

Treatment is Effective and People Do Recover Recovery is a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.

wellness matters · jim stansberry of project 90. read more about jim and the david lewis award on...

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