DALY CITY, California—The Philippine consul in San Francisco will sign a memorandum of understanding with San Mateo County’s mental health agency to bring substance abuse and mental health services to more Philippine nationals.
Consul General Marciano A. Paynor Jr., on August 13, 2013, will sign an MOU with Stephen Kaplan, director of the Behavioral Health and Recovery Services of San Mateo County at the North County Clinic, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, 375 89th Street, Daly City, at 4 p.m.
Through the MOU, both offices will agree to work together toward the larger goal of providing support to Filipino nationals who require services for mental health and/or substance abuse issues.
According to the 2010 US Census, Filipinos constitute approximately 10 percent of the total San Mateo County population.
Dr. Jei Africa recently showed statistics pointing to the need for a blueprint for providing comfort, promoting recovery and helping to reduce distress related to stressful situations, trauma and crisis.
· — 1 in 4 individuals in the US develop severe mental illness in their lifetime.
· — 17 percent of Asian Americans with psychological problems sought help, with 6 percent of them who went to get mental health treatment from a provider (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2001)
· — Filipino-American adolescents have one of the highest rates of suicide ideation and attempts in the US (President’s Advisory Commission on AAPI 2001)
· — Filipino-Americans have higher depression rate than other Asian-American females (Kim & Chun, 1993)
· — Filipino-Americans have higher depression rates than the general US population (David & Okazaki, 2006)
· — Filipino-Americans seek mental health services at much lower rate compared with other Asian-American groups (Gong, Gage & Tacata, 2003)
· — 75 percent of Filipino-Americans never used any type of mental health service
· — There are 87 percent white vs. 1.7 percent Asian psychologists
Just four years into the introduction of the Mental Health First Aid in the US, most of the Consulate General’s personnel were trained and certified as Mental First Aiders in 2011, due in large part to the San Mateo County’s Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS).
With a personnel-client ratio of 1:21,239, the incidence of stress is high, and the Mental Health First Aid course instilled among the Consulate General staff the importance of taking care of one’s overall health and well-being.
Moreover, the course equipped the employees with the necessary skills to deal with persons suffering from mental health issues.
The signing event is open to the public but seats are limited. Contact the San Mateo County Office through Lea at 650-573-2541 or lgalay@smcgov.org on or before August 9, 2013.