RAMS Reaffirms Commitment to Serving the Community

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Peer Specialist Mental Health Certificate -- Now Accepting Applications for Spring 2017 Peer Specialist Mental Health Certificate Entry Course

RAMS, in collaboration with San Francisco State University (SFSU) Department of Counseling, is excited to announce that the Peer Specialist Mental Health Certificate Program is currently accepting applications for the Spring 2017 Peer Specialist Mental Health Certificate Entry Course!

Funded by the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), the Peer Specialist Mental Health Certificate Entry Course provides a 12-week long training for consumers of behavioral health services or their family members who are interested in becoming peer counselors/peer specialists in the field of community behavioral health. Having already successfully completed 13 cohort cycles, this course has had over 175 graduates, the majority of whom are actively engaging in work, volunteer, and educational opportunities as a direct result of taking the course. This program is free of cost for the attendee, with books and materials included, and a modest stipend is provided upon completion of the course.

We are looking for individuals who:

• Are at least 18 years of age and a resident of San Francisco, 
• Have successfully completed at least a High School education or GED, and 
• Are able to attend 12 weeks of classes, which will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays (10 a.m. - 2 p.m.). 
• This program is funded by MHSA through San Francisco Behavioral Health Services. As such, the course is targeted to individuals (or family members) with personal experience with behavioral health services.

Application and Course Timeline:

• Thursday, January 12th - Application Release 
• Wednesday, January 25th & Tuesday, January 31st - Optional Informational Open Houses (see Flyer Here for details)
• Wednesday, February 1st, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. – Optional Application Help Workshop
• Tuesday, February 21st @ 5:00 p.m. - Application Deadline 
• Week of March 1st - Notification of Application Status 
• Tuesday, March 22nd – First Day of Class 
• Thursday, June 8th - Graduation Ceremony

Please feel free to contact us at (415) 579-3021 x102 or certificate@ramsinc.org should you have any questions. Materials are also available for download at: http://www.ramsinc.org/peer.php.

We look forward to receiving applications for the Spring 2017 class, and beginning another great cohort!

Important Announcement from RAMS Board of Directors on CEO Transition

Message from Kavoos Ghane Bassiri, President & CEO:

Dear Colleagues, Community Partners, and Friends;

I would like to inform you that I am officially resigning from my position as the President & Chief Executive Officer at Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc. (RAMS). After a comprehensive search & recruitment process, I have been selected as the San Francisco Department of Public Health and San Francisco Health Network’s Director of Behavioral Health Services, with the City & County of San Francisco. My last day of employment with RAMS will be December 31, 2016. It has been an honor to serve this organization, all of you & our community, for over a decade.

I am so proud and humbled to have been the RAMS’ President & CEO for over 13 years. I truly appreciate your vote of confidence and I wholeheartedly cherish the privilege I was provided with to serve in this role at RAMS. I don’t take anything for granted for a moment and am so inspired by & thankful for all the experiences I have had/we have had together. During the past 13 years, RAMS has grown as an organization by leaps and bounds, offering more programs & with more diverse initiatives, serving more people, through quality, compassionate, culturally humble/competent, consumer-driven and community-based services. A lot has been accomplished, in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable, under/un-served &/or disenfranchised population in our community, and I am pleased to say that RAMS’ reputation and operations is at its strongest ever.

I look forward to staying in contact and working with you all in my new role; championing behavioral health care, strengthening our community, and ensuring the wellbeing of all San Franciscans & beyond. Respectfully, Kavoos Ghane Bassiri

Remembering David Fox

It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the recent passing of dear Mr. David Fox, Administrative Assistant at RAMS.

Mr. Fox passed away on November 22 in San Francisco. Although his battle with cancer was brief, he courageously dealt with his illness and was so appreciative of the support he received. We mourn the loss, yet we will always remember him fondly.

        Mr. David Nelson Fox

       May 7, 1960 - November 22, 2016

Mr. Fox began his employment at RAMS in April 2013. He worked as a Help Desk Technical Assistant and then Administrative Assistant at RAMS Hire-Ability Vocational Services. He was very supportive to the other staff, took his work seriously and managed his duties responsibly. He became an integral part of the RAMS’ family and our team based at Hire-Ability & at 1380 Howard Street with Behavioral Health Services. He was settled & found a home at RAMS and he will be greatly missed by his colleagues. Prior to coming to RAMS, Mr. Fox also had a successful career in graphic design work, doing design & art direction as well as production. Additionally, he was a photographer and poet, and enjoyed sharing his art & talents with others.

We extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and co-workers as well as those who knew & worked with him. We will miss his energetic presence and will always keep his spirit alive.

See more photos & poetry at:
davidnelsonfox.blogspot.com/?view=flipcard


Some people have asked if David had any favorite causes they could support in his honor. Here is a list of organizations that David thought did good work to make the world a better place:

American Civil Liberties Union www.aclu.org
Planned Parenthood Federation of America www.plannedparenthood.org
Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc. www.ramsinc.org
Southern Poverty Law Center www.splcenter.org

RAMS Invites You to Join #GivingTuesday ​on November 29th

#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving, celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. Kicking off the charitable season, it is the perfect start to your winter holiday and end-of-year charitable contributions.

Join the #GivingTuesday movement by supporting RAMS through a monetary donation, while shopping through AmazonSmile, a gift from our Amazon Wishlist​, or the power of your time through volunteering.

Annually, the mental health agency serves and outreaches to about 18,000 adults, children, youth, ​and families, and provides services in over 30 languages, including Asian languages – Cambodian, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Toishanese, Taiwanese), Farsi, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese – as well as Russian and Spanish. To meet the diverse community needs, RAMS offers over 30 clinical programs in over 90 sites citywide, serving the most vulnerable populations.

RAMS is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Thank you for considering RAMS for a contribution, as the agency depends on the community's ongoing support. All contributions are tax deductible up to the extent permitted by law.


​Consider making a contribution by check or credit card:

Checks can be made payable to:

Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc.
c/o Angela Tang, Director of Operations
639- 14th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118

OR

Donate online with credit card.

​DONATE​


Consider donating while shopping online through AmazonSmile:

RAMS is now participating in the AmazonSmile program, a simple and automatic way for Amazon customers to support RAMS every time you shop, at no additional cost to you. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to RAMS whenever you shop on AmazonSmile! Start now by designating RAMS as your charitable organization, then using the smile.amazon.com site for all your Amazon purchases.

​CONTRIBUTE​


For more opportunities to give to RAMS, check out this page on our website.

New Director at RAMS Hire-Ability Vocational Services

It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of Carmen Castorena-O’Keefe as the Director of Vocational Services at RAMS Hire-Ability Vocational Services.

Ms. Castorena-O’Keefe has over 20 years of management experience, with the past 14 years being in Vocational Rehabilitation Services.  As the Program Director for Hire-Ability, Ms. Castorena-O’Keefe manages and supports a team dedicated to enhancing San Francisco City and County residents’ lives through Vocational Skills Training and Competitive Community Job Placement.

Prior to joining RAMS, Ms. Castorena-O’Keefe managed (9+ years) Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) within the Human Services Agency, which serves San Mateo County residents with disabilities and/or barriers to employment; she also held positions within VRS as the  Marketing Manager and Job Development Specialist. Ms. Castorena-O’Keefe began her career as a Career Counselor/Placement Director and eventually Corporate Director of Career Services for Heald Colleges over 20 years ago.

Ms. Castorena-O’Keefe obtained her B.S degree from San Francisco State University. She has lived in San Francisco for over 30 years and is dedicated to serving and strengthening her community.

Please join us in welcoming and congratulating Ms. Carmen Castorena-O’Keefe to her new leadership appointment as the Director of RAMS Hire-Ability Vocational Services.

You may contact Carmen Castorena-O’Keefe at RAMS by telephone at 415-282-9675 and/or by email at carmenokeefe@hire-ability.org.

RAMS ​C​o-sponsoring S​eptember 29th SF District 1 Supervisor Candidates Forum!

RAMS is serving as one of the community sponsors for this upcoming San Francisco District 1 Supervisor Candidates Forum. Hope you can join us!

​

WHEN: ​Thursday, September 2​9, 2016,​ 6:​0​0pm - ​9:00pm

WHERE: ​Alamo Elementary School,​ 250 23rd Ave,​ SF

WHAT: ​2016 ​San Francisco ​District 1 Candidates Forum​, hosted by the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco​

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View the Facebook Event Page: www.facebook.com/events/188758071535123/

Co-Sponsoring Organizations: ​Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Asian Family Support Services​, ​Community Youth Center (CYC)​, ​Golden Gate Village​, ​Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco​, ​Jobs with Justice San Francisco​, ​Richmond Area Multi-Services (RAMS)​, ​Richmond District Neighborhood Center​, ​Richmond District Senior Center​, ​Richmond District YMCA​, San Francisco Tenants Union