Dear Friends,
As we draw 2021 to a close, I would like to take a moment to reflect on another historic year here at StarVista.
First, we kicked off our year with a celebration of 55 years of service in San Mateo County. Our agency, which once began with the StarVista Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Center, now offers over 30 counseling, crisis prevention, youth housing, and outreach programs that help all ages and stages navigate life’s challenges. This 55th-year milestone marks 55 years of our commitment to empowering individuals, inspiring hope, and strengthening communities, and we are just getting started.
Here are a few of our notable accomplishments this year:
- We brought awareness to our essential mental health services through our first-ever Mental Health Matters Campaign during Mental Health Awareness Month in May. This new campaign spotlighted StarVista’s Crisis Center, 24/7 Crisis Hotline, and mental health services in our shared community.
- We hosted our second annual Changing Lives event in October. This year, we celebrated our 55th anniversary and honored our clients who inspire us every day. We were grateful to once again hold a virtual event and offer live Spanish transcription services for the first time.
- We are hiring StarVista’s first Chief Clinical Officer. This position will supervise our department directors and the training director who oversee all our programs focused on early childhood mental health and early childhood mental health consultation, youth residential services, counseling, behavioral health, and crisis intervention, as well as the intern training program.
- We launched three new programs: StarVista’s First Chance Detox, StarVista’s Youth Stabilization, Opportunity, and Support (S.O.S.) Team, and StarVista’s Community Wellness and Crisis Response Team. All three programs are the first of their kind in San Mateo County in addressing the mental and behavioral health, substance use, and addiction challenges that many people face.
- Our San Mateo County Pride Center program launched the first LGBTQ COVID Impact Study Report in California in March. Included in this report is both quantitative and qualitative data on how the pandemic has impacted LGBTQ communities in San Mateo County.
- Our Children’s Place program hosted a record number of virtual Kampers during Kids Kamp this year. Thanks to our donors, Kampers were able to receive a hybrid of services traditionally offered in-person for this youth-focused prevention getaway camp.
- We released our brand-new Sponsorship portal. This is a resource that shares all the incredible sponsorship and in-kind opportunities offered by our agency. We hope you will consider sponsoring our exciting events in 2022!
- We welcomed 9 new Visionaries this year and cannot wait to welcome more in 2022! Thank you, Visionaries, for believing in StarVista and showing your commitment to the long-term sustainability of our agency.
View some of the year’s highlights here
All of this would not be possible without you, our incredible partners, donors, funders, supporters, sponsors, staff, interns, and volunteers. On behalf of the clients we serve every day, thank you for another year of helping people overcome their unique challenges and reach their potential.
As we prepare to serve more than 35,000 individuals in 2022, I invite you to make a one-time gift or transform your gift into a Visionary pledge this holiday season. Your generosity will support our shared community in overcoming life’s challenges and ensuring they can count on StarVista to be there for them today, tomorrow, and for the next 55 years.
Sincerely,
Sara Larios Mitchell, Ph.D., MACP
CEO