Humanitarian Asians and Pacific Islanders (HAPI) Fundraising Hour for Japan on March 31

The shock and sadness of the news coming out of Japan as a result of the March 11 earthquake, the tsunami, and subsequent nuclear emergencies have touched many of us at RAMS. We join the world’s communities in sending our deepest sympathies to those people in Japan, the Bay Area, the US, and other countries abroad, whose lives, families, and friends were impacted by these events. No doubt it will take a long time to rebuild the country, and perhaps even longer for the physical, emotional, and mental recovery of people affected by this tragedy.

RAMS and its staff have been reaching out and working together with many other organizations to provide assistance, support, and manpower in this time of great need. One way in which you can aid RAMS in our efforts is to join us at the upcoming HAPI Hour for Japan.

When: March 31st 2011, 5:00-9:00pm
Where: Recess, 443 Broadway Street, San Francisco

Proceeds will go to NORTHERN JAPAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FUND spearheaded by the Japanese Cultural Community Center of Northern California, an organization with disaster relief experience in Japan, focused on relief, recovery and rebuilding.

100% of funds go to the people who need it most… the victims.

Optional donations will be accepted at the door: $5-20 Suggested (100% of the door proceeds will go to the Northern Japan Relief Fund).
In addition, 40% of the bar proceeds (as well as the hors d'ouvres) will be graciously donated by Anna Tran (the owner of RECESS).
DJ Boy Wonder, DJ eHash and DJ Thaifoon are also donating their services.

Click HERE for more information about the HAPI Hour event.
Click HERE for more fundraising events and information from the JCCCNC about the Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund

Sponsoring Organization: National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP–SF)

Co-sponsoring Organizations: Bay Area Benefit, DAE Advertising, Taiwanese American Professionals, Asian Business League, Project by Project, Oriented, American Legion Cathay Post #384, KollaborationSF, Corporate Asian American Employee Network (CAAEN), Richmond Area Multi-Services, SF Samoa, Samoan Parents in Action, Fa'atasi (Together as One), Together Samoa, OLO - One Love Oceania, UTOPIA, Samoan Solutions, Pacific Health Club, Tongan Interfaith Council, Mission District Re-Entry Center, APOP Hawaiian Cultural Center, Books for the Barrios, Vive SF and many more to be announced.

Host Committee: Keesa Ocampo, Keith Kamisugi, Derek Choy, Eli Kuo, Yumi Chang, Christopher Do, Hon. Greg Chew, Hon. Igor Tregub, Jason Overman and many more to be announced

Community Partners: The Tides Foundation

Glide Community Wellness Fair on April 8

Public Invited for Free Diabetes, Blood Pressure and HIV Screenings and to
Learn Healthy Tips on Stress Reduction, Nutrition, Meditation and More

GLIDE Health Services is teaming up with Bay Area organizations to bring the GLIDE Community Wellness Fair to San Francisco’s Tenderloin District on Friday, April 8, 2011. Community members will learn healthy tips about stress reduction, nutrition, mind health, social health, yoga, meditation, and acupuncture. Other free services include free screenings for diabetes and depression, blood pressure measurements, and HIV Rapid Tests.

The Fair will also feature health related products and information from local vendors, fun activities, prizes and more. GLIDE Community Wellness Fair is free and open to the public.

Location: GLIDE, 330 Ellis St., San Francisco, Freedom Hall (1st Floor)
Date: Friday, April 8
Time: 10:00am – 2:00pm

Event Sponsors include:

• GLIDE Health Services
• Alliant University
• CLASP
• CIIS
• Hospitality House
• Mental Health Alliance-SF
• RAMS, Inc.
• SF Psych Association
• SF Suicide Prevention
• YMCA
  

RAMS at SFIAAFF29

Once again, RAMS was proud to participate in this year's San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, held by the Center for Asian American Media. The festival features 108 films from around the globe, and is a mainstay of the San Francisco Arts and Culture calendar. It is an enjoyable and eye-opening way to learn about Asian Americans and Asian cultures.

Through the involvement of Dr. Ravi Chandra, Medical Director at RAMS Adult Outpatient Clinic as well as a blogger for the SFIAAFF column "Memoirs of a Superfan", RAMS served as a community co-presenter for two films at this year's festival: THE TAQWACORES (USA, 2010), which features young Muslim Americans on a quest for identity through punk rock; and ABRAXAS (Japan, 2010) which is about a Buddhist monk who is undergoing an identity crisis and depression - he invigorates himself by returning to his roots as a punk rocker.

Thank you Ravi and everyone who attended the event!

Seminar - Through the Lenses of History and Trauma: Understanding Russian-speaking Immigrants

Together with the Harm Reduction Therapy Center, RAMS shall be presenting an upcoming training:

Through the Lenses of History and Trauma: Understanding Russian-speaking Immigrants

DATE: April 28, 2011
TIME: 9:00am to 4:30pm (registration at 8:30am)
LOCATION: Baha'i Faith, San Francisco Center, 170 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
REGISTER: Call or Fax form to (415) 821-0410
CONTACT: mhsatraininginstitute@gmail.com

The didactic seminar focuses on this phenomenon in the context of history and culture of the former Soviet Union, informed by the concept of transgenerational transmission of trauma. The presenter will discuss how one’s personal history and previous traumas (individual and societal) give unique personal meanings to experiences of immigration, dealing with associated psychological distress, and contribute to pathological symptoms.

Through film & case presentations and panel forum, there will be a facilitated discussion of the clinical and cultural aspects of the cases in the context of the trans-generational transmission of trauma and concepts introduced during the morning session. Discussion points include the panelists’ psychological insights into the film & case and share their thoughts on culturally typical family dynamics, rites of passage, and trans-generational relationships in the Russian culture.

Presented by Clinical Staff at RAMS: Alla Volovich, PhD, Artur Digilov, MD, Faina Samkharadze, MSW, Alexander Zinchenko, PhD
Film: “The Return” (2003) by Andrej Zvyagintsev

Click HERE to download the flyer.

MFTs/LCSWs: Meets qualifications for 6.0 CE Credits. HRTC is a provider approved by BBS.
Psychologists: HRTC is a provider approved by MCEP. Course Approval Pending.

The Harm Reduction Therapy Center (HRTC) has been engaged by the Community Behavioral Health Services (CBHS) to deliver a series of trainings in San Francisco on the topic of Cultural Sensitivity. Funded by Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), the project’s goal is to deliver 16 trainings aimed to improve the CBHS workforce’s understanding of the cultural & linguistic issues and needs that affect recovery and resiliency, and improve access to mental health services, for the following ethnic and cultural groups: African Americans; Latinos/as; Asians and Pacific Islanders; Native Americans; Russians; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Questioning (LGBTQIQ) consumers; Transitional Age Youth; and Older Adults. These trainings are between April 2010 to June 2011.

Photo credit - by n1colas on Flickr

NAMI Listens... and NAMI Reports

RAMS is excited to share the Asian American & Pacific Islander Mental Health Report, newly released by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) on February 15, 2011. This was the result of Listening Session (which we blogged about in November 2010), where RAMS President & CEO Kavoos G. Bassiri joined with 20 other participants to discuss the unique needs of the AAPI community.

The resulting report documents the diverse experiences of this community when dealing with mental health issues, including the many barriers and gaps AAPI individuals and families face when accessing services. The report also offers important recommendations to help mental health systems address these barriers.

The report highlights statistics from the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) and National Asian Women’s Health Organization (NAWHO) posing concern:
• Asian American girls have the highest rates of depressive symptoms of any racial/ethnic or gender group;
• Young Asian American women ages 15 to 24 die from suicide at a higher rate than other racial/ethnic groups;
• Suicide is the fifth leading cause of death among Asian Americans overall, compared to the ninth leading cause of death for white Americans;
• Older Asian American women have the highest suicide rate of all women over 65; and
• Among Southeast Asians, 71 percent meet criteria for major affective disorders such as depression—with 81 percent among Cambodians and 85 percent among Hmong.

“Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders represent a rich diversity of languages and cultures” said NAMI Executive Director Michael Fitzpatrick. “They include traditions from China, India, Vietnam, Korea and the Philippines to name only a few. Mental health care must recognize cultural differences as well as common concerns inside our broader national community.”

Recommendations include:
• A national strategy of outreach and engagement using cultural messages, ambassadors and social media;
• A linguistically and culturally responsive mental health workforce, including recruitment of bilingual and bicultural members of the AAPI community; and.
• Recognition of cultural influences such as tight-knit family connections and individual and family desires to avoid stigma and shame from seeking treatment.

The Executive Summary can be downloaded HERE.
The Full Report can be downloaded HERE.

NAMI’s Multicultural Action Center convened the listening session. Participants included:
• Asian American Studies Program; California State University
• Asian Health Coalition
• Center for Education Empowerment
• Charles B Wang Community Health Center
• Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
• Chinese American Mental Health Outreach Program (NAMI New Jersey)
• Lehigh University
• NAMI Orange County
• NAMI San Diego
• NAMI San Francisco
• Pacific Clinics
• Peers Envisioning and Engaging in Recovery Services
• RAMS, Inc.
• U.C.-Davis School of Medicine
• Rethink BPD
• San Mateo County Health Department
• Union of Pan-Asian Communities and
• Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health

NAMI also put together this video with footage from the Listening Session, regarding Mental Illness and the AAPI community.

nami_aapi_520x288.mov

Update for the Peer Specialist Mental Health Certificate Program

It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of Christine Tam, MA as the Coordinator of the Peer Specialist Mental Health Certificate program, which is jointly operated by Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc. (RAMS) and San Francisco State University’s Department of Counseling. This 12-week course is designed to equip students with the basic counseling and case management skills and knowledge for entry-level or advancement in peer counselor/specialist roles in the behavioral health systems of care. The program is funded by the Mental Health Services Act.

We would also like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to Mia Veroy who is transitioning from this Coordinator position and leaving RAMS at the end of February 2011. Ms. Veroy successfully spearheaded the start-up and implementation of the Certificate program as well as effectively served as the Vocational & Employee Development Coordinator at RAMS Hire-Ability Vocational Services. She has clearly exemplified what amazing things can be accomplished through teamwork, empowering consumers, and offering innovative opportunities to our consumers leading to self sufficiency. We value all that she has done at RAMS and for the San Francisco community for the past six years and wish her all the best.

Starting February 2011, Christine Tam is assuming the Coordinator role. She is a bilingual & bicultural clinical social worker with many years of experience providing dedicated & culturally competent services to underserved communities as well as demonstrating exceptional organizational skills. Ms. Tam has been working in the social service field for nearly ten years at various local community settings, and is also currently at the RAMS Wellness Centers Program as a Behavioral Health Counselor. She has unique expertise in working in school settings and with immigrant communities, including the Asian & Pacific Islander American population. Ms. Tam received a Masters of Art in Clinical Social Work from University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration and earned her undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Economics from the University of Chicago.

We congratulate Christine Tam on her new appointment as the Coordinator of the Peer Specialist Mental Health Certificate program.

Meet RAMS - The Fu Yau Project

The Fu Yau Project is one of the many Child, Youth, & Family Services offered at RAMS. It is a collaboration of RAMS and Chinatown Child Development Center (CCDC) and is located at 720 Sacramento Street, in San Francisco's Chinatown district. This innovative program provides prevention and early intervention mental health services to the childcare community that cares for children, ages 0-5 years old. Services includes the following: On-Site Program and Child Observation; Clinical Consultation with childcare staff and families; On-Site Intervention with individual and groups of children; Parenting Classes and Support Groups; and In-Service Training for the childcare staff relating to child development and mental health related issues. The Fu Yau Project staff includes child psychiatrists, licensed and license-tracked clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, and marriage and family therapists, all of whom reflect the unique language skills and cultural competence needed to provide services for the children, families, and teaching staff of the childcare programs.

Through the Fu Yau Project, RAMS currently provides services at more than 44 childcare centers, 12 family childcare providers, four family resource centers, and one after school site, which are located in over nine San Francisco neighborhoods. The program's current client demographics include the following: 99% are low-income families with limited resources; over 80% of the families are of Asian & Pacific Islander ethnicity, many of whom are from China and have limited or no English-speaking skills; 12% are Latin Americans; 6% are African American.

The Fu Yau Project also distributes a semi-annual newsletter with great articles and tips on parenting and resources for the community. Check it out by clicking HERE.

Photo credit - Capt Kodak on Flickr