RAMS honors May 10th Asian Pacific American Mental Health Day

In honor of Asian Pacific American Mental Health Day and May being Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc. (RAMS), on May 10, RAMS is proudly partnering with Richmond District Neighborhood Center to hold a mental health awareness event. This year, May 10 is also Mother’s Day and the event will focus on outreach efforts to families and supporting adult-child bonds. Held at Richmond District Neighborhood Center, the free community event will include interactive and engaging activities – arts & crafts, group sing along, games & activities, face painting, yoga, family photo fun, snacks, information & resources, and giveaways – all in celebration of mental wellness and maintaining balanced mental and physical health. 

May is established nationally as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. Established by the State of California, the City & County of San Francisco, and the City of Austin (TX), Asian Pacific American Mental Health Day on May 10 recognizes the importance of raising awareness about mental health and promoting mental wellness in the Asian Pacific American community. The establishment of Asian Pacific American Mental Health Day was an effort spearheaded by RAMS and overwhelmingly supported by many major associations and community coalitions. Since May is already established nationally as the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and as Mental Health Awareness Month, institution of this day in the month of May more closely aligns both awareness efforts.

Many people believe that mental disorders are rare and “happen to someone else" however one in four adults are impacted by mental illness in the United States every year. Childhood mental illness occurs in one out of five children in the United States during a given year, and two-thirds of them get little or no help according to the U.S. Surgeon General. Many factors contribute to mental health concerns such as biological, life experiences (e.g. trauma), and family history of mental health conditions. Asian & Pacific Islanders (A&PIs) specifically make up one of the fastest growing ethnic communities in the United States, yet they have the lowest rates of utilization of mental health services among ethnic populations, which may be due to the substantial stigma that exists as well as cultural & linguistic isolation of the community, family, and individual. These disparities indicate the critical need to raise awareness, de-stigmatize seeking help, and increase access to culturally competent/ relevant services for the Asian American & Pacific Islander community. It is important that each person is aware of some of the warning signs and ways to support and help.

The press release is below (right-click and select any option to "Open").

Peace of Mind for Mom & the Whole Family

Come celebrate Mental Wellness on Mother's Day with FREE activities for the whole family!

RAMS and the Richmond District Neighborhood Center are hosting an event to promote and celebrate mental health awareness and wellness at this free family-friendly event.  This event is also in recognition of Asian Pacific American Mental Health Day, observed annually on May 10.

WHEN:  Sunday May 10, 1:00pm - 4:00pm
WHERE: Richmond District Neighborhood Center, 741 30th Avenue, San Francisco

There will be fun and activities for the whole family, as well as snacks and freebies.  Admission is free and all are welcome to drop by anytime!

For more information, contact Angela Tang at (415) 800-0699 x200.

To view flyer, right-click and select any option to "Open".

 

Richmond Community Health Festival on Saturday, May 2nd

RAMS is proud to be a co-sponsor along with San Francisco District 1 Supervisor Eric Mar, California District 19 Assemblymember Phil Ting, Kaiser Permanente, Compassionate Community Care, and Self-Help for the Elderly for the Richmond Community Health Festival. 

View the flyer by clicking on the image below to enlarge (right-click and select any options to "Open"). 

The purpose of this free health festival is to encourage a healthy lifestyle and provide access to resources that help meet the health needs of our diverse community.

The Health Festival will feature FREE health screenings and medication review along with FREE giveaways, cooking demonstrations, health education offered by about 40 community health organizations, children’s activities and family fun.

When: Saturday, May 2, 2015, 10am-2pm

Where: George Peabody Elementary School, 251 6th Avenue, San Francisco (between California and Clement)

Announcement: Peer to Peer Programs Advisory & Focus Groups

GET ON BOARD & SPEAK UP

Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc. (RAMS) was selected to operate several Peer to Peer programs, funded by SF DPH – Behavioral Health Services (BHS).  RAMS will build upon SFDPH BHS’ strong foundation & further develop an integrative delivery system that promotes best practices, shared resources, peer advancement opportunities and quality driven peer to peer services for behavioral health consumers.

RAMS invites peer/consumer workforce, consumers; family members, community providers, and interested parties to GET INVOLVED and provide ideas in the planning of the Peer to Peer programs.   

Give your input about peer services, program structure, peer support, and more!

Advisory & Focus Group Schedule:

Peer Wellness/Drop-in Center
May 5: 2pm-4pm 
May 20: 2pm-4pm 
Location: BHS, 1380 Howard Street, Room 424 

Peer Counseling/Outreach Services
May 6: 11am-1pm 
May 27: 2pm-4pm 
Location: BHS, 1380 Howard Street, Room 424

Peer Support Internship
May 13: 10am-12pm 
May 28: 2pm-4pm 
Location: BHS, 1380 Howard Street, Room 417

RSVP Preferred but not Required.
Angela Tang: (415) 800-0699 Ext. 200 / angelatang@ramsinc.org  

* You can attend one or more meetings, of one or more topics, depending on your interest. 

** Join the mailing list to receive announcements and information about additional advisory & focus groups meetings by sending your contact information to peerservices@ramsinc.org 

Infographic: RAMS services at Wellness Centers

We are thrilled to present the publication of the RAMS & Wellness Centers Service Summary!  This infographic illustrates the types of services provided by RAMS & being utilized by high school students in San Francisco Wellness Centers.

RAMS is the core behavioral health provider at the Wellness Centers.  The Wellness Initiative and the school-based Wellness Centers is a collaboration with leadership from the SF Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF), Department of Public Health (DPH), San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), and RAMS. Confidential student services are provided on-site at Wellness Centers located in SFUSD high schools, at which RAMS provides the integrated behavioral health services component (mental health & substance abuse). This includes confidential on-site Mental Health and Substance Abuse Assessments, Individual and Group Psychotherapy, Crisis Intervention/Consultation, Grief & Loss/Trauma Counseling, Referrals to community resources, and Consultation to school staff and community.

 View the document by clicking on the images below to enlarge (right-click and select any options to "Open").

The original PDF document can be viewed or downloaded HERE.  More information on the results and impact of this program can be found HERE.

RAMS Co-Presenting at CAAMFest 2015

RAMS will be co-presenting a feature film, CICADA, at the CAAMFest 2015, held by the Center for Asian American Media.

Cicada

 When Jumpei Taneda finds out he has a fertility problem, he begins to have clairvoyant flashes that mysteriously lead him to cicada shells. Jumpei's inability to have children causes him to become a father-figure to his sister Nanaka's young son Ryota, who is being bullied at school. Nanaka and her gambling-addict husband decide to throw a birthday party for Ryota in hopes of changing his classmates' perception of him. Unfortunately, no one shows up to the party except the quirky cast of adults in Ryota's life, and it is here that secrets are revealed and chaos ensues.

 Also a teacher, director Dean Yamada is similarly inspired by youthful energies. A professor at Biola University, Yamada took his students to Japan, where they produced this soft-stepping comedy that combines colorful characterizations with the gentle moods of social discovery found in much Japanese cinema. It’s a welcome return for Yamada, a mainstay of the Asian American film festival circuit, as he steps into the feature film spotlight with longtime collaborator Yu Shibuya and university students ready to mature into filmmakers themselves.   (Brian Hu, CAAMFest)

RAMS will be co-presenting the showing of Cicada on March 18 at 6:30pm, at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, 1881 Post Street.  
We also invite viewers to stay and join in a short discussion with RAMS after the film.

Cicada is the first feature film from the team that created the award-winning short films Jitensha and Persimmon. Their work has screened at the Venice Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, and Aspen Shortsfest and won awards at the Heartland Film Festival, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and Sapporo Shortfest.  For more details, visit the film's site at www.cicadathemovie.com



Please join us at the screening and the following discussion, and check out the exciting line-up of events in this 11 day celebration of film, music, and food!  CAAMFest 2015 runs from March 12-22.  We hope to see you there!

In the right "Frames Of Mind": A collaboration with Kearny Street Workshop

RAMS is excited to be collaborating with Kearny Street Workshop on an upcoming project entitled "Frames of Mind".

Funded through a grant of the San Francisco Arts Commission, the Frames Of Mind project will focus on Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) living with or who are at high-risk for mental health issues and connect them with teaching artists/photographers who can equip them with the skills and confidence to creatively tell their own stories through the use of photography. In doing so, we aim to increase visibility and awareness of the daily challenges and experiences of individuals with mental health problems, and build support within APA communities which tends to stigmatize these conditions.

Kearny Street Workshop (KSW) is the oldest APA multidisciplinary arts organization in the country. Founded in San Francisco’s Manilatown/Chinatown neighborhood in 1972, KSW has long been an institution for community-based arts in San Francisco and has greatly impacted the cultural development of APAs in the Bay Area, and consequently, around the country.

This project is slated to commence in mid-2015, with program planning, outreach, and workshops taking place over 2015-2016. It is the goal of RAMS and KSW to release the published work in 2016.  Stay tuned on this blog, where we'll provide updates on this groundbreaking new project.  We are all very excited about this unique collaboration involving the Arts and Community-Based Mental Health sectors, and look forward to working with Kearny Street Workshop in the coming years.

For more details, see: The Arts Commission announces the recipients of the FY2014-2015 Cultural Equity Initiatives, Arts & Communities: Innovative Partnerships, and Individual Artist Commissions grants.
And also: FY15 Arts & Communities: Innovative Partnerships Project Summaries

 Photo credit:  Daniel Dionne on Flickr