Dear Friends,
As fall begins and I reflect on the past 6 months, I am amazed and inspired by all the pivots and changes we have made to ensure that no one in our community is left behind. I am inspired by StarVista’s resiliency and I am certain StarVista is coming out of this pandemic stronger. I invite you to join us in acknowledging a few things this month: National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, our partner organizations and funders for their continued support, and our 2020-21 Intern Cohort.
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. All month long, mental health advocates, agencies, and community members join together to promote suicide prevention awareness. Since March 2020, we have seen a 25% increase in calls to our Crisis Hotline due to the stress and numerous uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 outbreak and shelter-in-place orders. I want to thank our staff and volunteers for all their incredible work in supporting the community. This team is truly remarkable and I am deeply grateful for the ways that they have demonstrated flexibility and determination to be there for our community.
Our Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Center team share insightful information about suicide and suicide prevention in StarVista’s latest blog post. Read it here. Here at StarVista, our Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Center provides transformative support to the community through their Crisis Hotline (650) 579-0350, online teen support chat onyourmind.net, educational presentations, clinical and training services.
I also want to thank our partner organizations and funders for their continued support of this program, including SolMateo, the Sequoia Healthcare District, the Peninsula Healthcare District, the City of San Carlos, the City of Burlingame, and Foster City.
As we are navigating these unprecedented times with COVID-19, we are going virtual with our trainees. I am excited to welcome our 2020-21 Intern Cohort! Every year, our training program accepts interns for a variety of StarVista programs. Each trainee, intern, and associate can build cultural, ethical, and clinical competence in the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, adults, and families within a multicultural, multidisciplinary, and community mental health setting. This year, we are excited to train 28 interns in our program!
I would like to close with reminding you about “Changing Lives,” our inaugural fundraising event, which is 5 weeks away, and I can’t wait to see you all there! If you haven’t had a chance to register, you can do so here. We are sharing event updates and fun pre-event content with you via email and on our YouTube channel.
I also want to thank Lucile Packard Foundation! You can now triple your giving for “Changing Lives” by making a DAF donation. Your donation will be matched by Lucile Packard Foundation up to $50,000. Don’t forget to ask your employer to match your donation!
Click here to make a DAF donation.
I wish you all continued health and safety.
Sincerely,
Sara Larios Mitchell, Ph.D., MACP
CEO