May 2018
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
May marks Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, in which we celebrate Americans of Asian or Pacific Islander descent. These vast regions of the world have such a multitude of cultures and traditions that an approach to addressing this community's challenges and mental health disparities must be just as diversified. Talking about mental health can be difficult in many Asian and Pacific Islander communities, but Each Mind Matters has a great Asian Pacific Islander Mental Health Resource Page with i n-language tools to help start important conversations
Community Member Highlight: Emily Wu Truong
May is also Mental Health Month, so it's the perfect time to highlight an Asian American community member who is influential on the local, statewide, and national level in her promotion of mental health awareness. Emily Wu Truong shares her personal story of recovery with us.
Feature Affiliate: NAMI Chinese / MHACC

With the support of NAMI California and NAMI Alameda County, two NAMI Family-To-Family educational programs in Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese dialect sponsored by MHACC have successfully completed in Fremont and Oakland at the end of March 2018. Participants include one from Sacramento and one at the age of 88. Participants expressed their appreciation as they gained access to professional knowledge on mental illness and learned many practical coping skills all delivered in the languages which they can fully understand. Many said that they finally learned how to be better and more efficient caregivers from the program. Participants enthusiastically formed support groups among themselves. 
MHACC stands for Mental Health Association for Chinese Communities. It is a non-profit organization in California dedicated to serving the people affected by Mental Health Illness in the Chinese communities.

MHACC is an exhibitor at the 2018 NAMI California’s Annual Conference on June 1st and 2nd held in Monterey, California. Please visit MHACC’s booth at the conference to inquire about the usage of the free NAMI Chinese Programs in California.  

This month, for Mental Health Awareness Month, MHACC is putting on a free mental health awareness workshop in Mandarin. Click here for flyer.

“Hope is not far away!”
Saturday, May 19, 2018
1:00pm-3:00pm
Artist Walk Gallery Artist Place
3888 Artist Walk Common
Fremont CA 94536

California Asian Pacific Islander Policy Summit
After a six year hiatus, the API Legislative Caucus has partnered with several statewide partners to bring back the California Asian Pacific Islander Policy Summit for leaders throughout California to strategize and take action on the most pressing issues in the API community. This year’s theme, “Transforming Momentum Into Movements”, recognizes the energy and potential within the API communities to lead social justice movements.

May 15-16, 2018
 Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel
1230 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

To register, email APIPolicySummit@gmail.com

Click here for agenda.
NAMI San Francisco Mental Health Film Fest: The Departure
NAMI San Francisco's Mental Health Film Fest will feature a screening of The Departure , followed by a panel discussion.
Film synopsis: " Ittetsu Nemoto, a former punk-turned-Buddhist-priest in Japan, has made a career out of helping suicidal people find reasons to live. But this work has come increasingly at the cost of his own family and health, as he refuses to draw lines between his patients and himself. The Departure captures Nemoto at a crossroads, when his growing self-destructive tendencies lead him to confront the same question his patients ask him:  what makes life worth living?"

Saturday, May 12, 2018
7pm - 9pm
Delancey Street Foundation Screening Room
600 Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA, 94107

Spotlight on NAMI Youth
Sierra Vista High School
Sierra Vista High School NAMI club has many activities planned for Mental Health Month! 
 
Students and club advisors are wearing placards that state, “Ask Me About…” and give some topic that relates to Mental Illness and/or Mental Health. You can follow the hashtags hashtag #NAMICA and #NCHS on social media to see what the students are up to.
 
This week, there will be an activity every day, including
handing out Bookmarks with how to “Resolve to Improve Your Mental Health” tips (and a caramel apple sucker), stickers with mental health awareness messaging, and water bottles with attached cards stating “5 Daily Reminders” of affirmation, as well as affirmation post-its placed on all 1700 student lockers. On Friday, the local NAMI affiliate will visit campus during lunch to table with information about different mental health issues. Club members be taking pictures with a frame that states, “I Matter” and other phrases to de-stigmatize mental illness.
Ranchos Alamitos High School
In honor of Mental Health Month, the NAMI On Campus High School Club of Ranchos Alamitos High School held a week of activities reaching 1,500 students and faculty leading up to Mental Health Awareness Month.

PAW Partners sent four therapy dog teams to the RAHS campus to interact with students. NAMI CA, NAMI Orange County, and Each Mind Matters provided lime green mental health awareness swag, posters, and resources for students. One hundred students attended an on-campus mental wellness class, and students raised funds and awareness through buying and sending "Wellness Grams."
Represent Recovery
Represent Recovery is an initiative calling for a paradigm shift in the way we view mental health in diverse cultural communities. It aims to serve members of underrepresented communities while centering their voices in the overall mental health movement. We are looking for mental health themed content from, for, and about members of diverse ethnic, LGBTQ+, and immigrant communities, including the API community. Submit content and inquiries to Communications Coordinator Shireen Dada Whitaker at Shireen@namica.org
namica.org