Guest Post - Yuka Hachiuma, LMFT

Today's guest post is from Yuka Hachiuma, LMFT, Mental Health Counselor at RAMS who also serves as the Program Coordinator for the Summer Bridge program, which is an 8-week summer mentoring program for San Francisco high school students, designed "to promote awareness of psychological well-being and foster interest in the helping professions".

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RAMS Summer Bridge 2011:  The end of another enriching, memorable summer

Where has the summer gone?  It feels like just yesterday that this year’s cohort in the Summer Bridge program was participating in the Fort Miley ropes course, breaking the ice and getting to know each other through various team-building activities.  Fast forward eight weeks to 8/5/11, when we held the graduation ceremony where 19 participants received their certificates of completion and came together one last time to reflect on all they learned and experienced, as well as the time spent together as a group.  
This cohort eagerly took in all that was offered to them in terms of learning about psychology and the helping professions through the numerous guest speakers and field trips in the program.  However, what was most striking about this group is how open they were to new experiences and learning about themselves in the process.  This was reflected in the depth of trust in each other as seen in the way they shared their personal stories in the small group discussions.  It was also evident in their final presentations where they were asked to present what they learned and experienced in the program.  Most of the presentations were of a very personal nature, reflecting on what they have learned and integrating their experiences from this program into the overall narrative of their lives.  But, most significantly, it was seen in the strong relationships that formed amongst program participants, as well as with program staff.  

One of the goals of this program is to foster a mentoring relationship with program graduates in order to nurture them into this profession, and with the bonds formed during this year’s program, we are hopeful that we will be able to maintain relationships with several of the graduates and support them as they take their next steps towards their dreams.  

Speaking of which, there is an exciting new program that is being started by some of last year’s Summer Bridge graduates.  Three graduates co-wrote and developed a grant proposal to the Youth Empowerment Fund to start up The Bridge Project where Bridge Outreach Workers (BOWs) will be expanding on what they learned during Summer Bridge to give presentations at high schools about mental health issues. The three youth leaders have recruited five Summer Bridge graduates (from both cohorts) to serve as BOWs to increase awareness of mental health issues and the stigma associated with them.  They also have future plans to provide peer-led support groups for those seeking support from other youth. So, as can be seen, they are already giving back to their community and taking tangible steps in pursuit of their goal of becoming mental health professionals.  Best of luck to them!