​Hey y’all, for those of y’all of that don’t know the HEART program, we are a collection of 8 CECs (counseling enriched classrooms) ranging from Elementary to High School across Hayward Unified School District. HEART stands for Hayward Empowering Advocacy and Radical Transformation, and one of the programs that especially embodies these values is our newest addition, the Ochoa Middle School CEC. The Ochoa CEC opened this school year and the team is comprised of Haddie Smith (classroom therapist), Milele Hare (clinical intern), Brisia Calderon Flores (MHC), Rosi Barboza (MHC), and Alexine Luna (MHC). We recently interviewed them to find out how this brand new team became so dope: 

A connection and sense of togetherness has been a foundation and central to human experiences since….our existence! For many of us, our sense of purpose comes from the feeling that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves or that there is something that we give not only to individuals around us but to the collective. This belonging and life contribution enables us to develop a stronger sense of personal and collective identity. I am not talking about volunteering, more so I am speaking to Service-Learning.

I hope I am not making assumptions here, but I feel many of us came into this field wanting to support young people through their some of their most influential years of development. Why not engage them in Service-Learning?  At its foundation, Service-Learning enables one to develop critical reflection, deepen sense of understanding on complex causes of social dilemmas, and enhance collaboration.

How to get started:
Let’s start off by brainstorming. Take some time to think about your communities and what is needed. Is there an area that needs a new paint job? An area that needs some cleaning (spring is around the corner)? Are there shelters in need of supplies, money that needs to be raised, food that needs to be distributed? Once we have the idea, how can we engage our clients and colleagues and what we as a unit can offer. I am consistently humbled by the skills, knowledge, and passion of the young people that we are with and am a firm believe that the possibilities are endless. As a general sense of some ideas:

Giving Tree – Food Drive, Shoe Drive, Blanket Drive (Student’s place items under the Christmas Tree and items are donated to the cause of choice)
Shoebox for Soldiers – One box is placed in each classroom to fill up for soldiers.
Community Clean-Up – Do what needs to be done in a community area to clean it up.
Crafts for the Elderly – Create a craft for a nursing home.
Letters – Create letters or cards for patients in the hospital, soldiers, police officers, etc.
Blankets – Create simple tie blankets for a homeless shelter or animal shelter
Teaching – Older kids can teach younger kids about an important topic
Perform – Have students put on a play or music concert in the community
Re-live History – Interview and write reports about the history of your neighborhood

Clinicians, therapist, counselors….I encourage you to bring these ideas into your sessions and work with youth. Parents, caregivers, aunts, uncles, bring these practices inside your homes and families. Let’s develop community together! 

Happy March! Most of us educators are finishing off one of the seemingly longest months of the school year and are on the verge of spring break. In Elena Agular’s book Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators, she encourages us to tap into play and creativity during the month of March, “When we are creative, we are resourceful, and we problem-solve in new and original ways, which fuels our courage.” School breaks can be a great time to explore play and imagination so we can integrate this joy and flexibility into our work lives.

I am reminded of creativity as I reflect on Seneca’s second year partnership with Nystrom Elementary School, a TK-6th grade school located on the southside of Richmond. Our Unconditional Education Coach, Kelsey Corrales has worked intentionally to create a culture of joy and celebration where community members are welcomed and invited back on campus, to develop a space for student leadership, and to bring the school community together through monthly assemblies.​

Hey Everyone! In the spirit of our DEI commitments and amplifying BIPOC voices, I wanted to share a resource. Theologian, activist, and the author of Nap Ministry, Tricia Hersey, also known as the ‘Nap Bishop,’ lifts-up the idea of radical rest for BIPOC communities— leaning into rest not just as a form of self-care, but as a tool for LIBERATION and RESISTANCE.
 
Hersey writes,
 
“My rest as a Black woman in America suffering from generational exhaustion and racial trauma always was a political refusal and social justice uprising within my body. I took to rest and naps and slowing down as a way to save my life, resist the systems telling me to do more and most importantly as a remembrance to my Ancestors who had their DreamSpace stolen from them. This is about more than naps. It is not about fluffy pillows, expensive sheets, silk sleep masks or any other external, frivolous, consumerist gimmick. It is about a deep unraveling from white supremacy and capitalism. These two systems are violent and evil. History tells us this and our present living shows this. Rest pushes back and disrupts a system that views human bodies as a tool for production and labor. It is a counter narrative. We know that we are not machines. We are divine.” (Hersey, T., 2023)

So often folxs of color feel like we need permission to take a break. Let us release the guilt and idea that we must earn rest and lean into the idea that it is our birthright! Hersey provides a hotline, 1-833-LUV-NAPS (588-6277), that supports us on our journey. I hope that you find it helpful. Wishing you a RESTful week ahead!
 
In solidarity,
Nicole ​

Pathways Counseling Center (Pathways) will soon be marking its second year at Seneca Family of Agencies (SFA).  Pathways was integrated into SFA, after a long history as a mental health program component of Girls Incorporated of Alameda County. Pathways provides outpatient mental health services at our counseling center at Seneca’s Golf Links Road Campus, as well as at community locations accessible to our youth and families.  Currently, Pathways is Seneca’s only center-based outpatient counseling center in Alameda County. 

Through its varied and flexible funding streams, Pathways is able to serve children and families both with and without Medi-Cal. Youth who are at-risk for involvement with the juvenile justice system receive counseling and case management through a contract with the Alameda County Probation Department.  A Child Abuse Treatment grant allows us to provide for youth with a history of victimization.
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When Pathways merged with the Mosaic team in July 2022, we were asked to generate a list of values that guided our work. When given the opportunity to write this blog post we wanted it to reflect this co-created list. Each of our clinical staff chose a value and shared how they express that value in their work. Below are descriptions of how we put our values into practice, beside photos of us in either our Golf Links or home office. We hope these photos capture the essence of the therapeutic spaces that we strive to cultivate in all aspects of our work.

Sarah Hall // Outpatient Therapist
Connection and Learning from One Another
The value of Connection and Learning from One Another is meaningful to me because I tend to structure my clinical thinking and approach to therapeutic work on this value. I lead with this value in the therapy room with children and families and with my team members. The "work" and therapeutic growth only happens once the willingness to learn and grow from one another is engaged (no matter how young or old, verbal language, body language or anything in-between. Every voice has a story to tell and be heard). The most beautiful moments of healing occur when we meet one another in our humanness.  Recognizing how to show up and support one other becomes clear when we hold a curious space for understanding. This space is where the deepest connection and learning from one another takes place. The future of mental health is in supporting the healing of communities through fostering continued mutual learning and connection!  

Julie Jacobs // Outpatient Therapist
Commitment to Work Against Systems of Oppression
​Pathways clinicians typically meet remotely or in our offices, but this year I’ve been able to meet in schools and in the community with families. This allows me to not give up on those who may have been told that outpatient “wasn’t a good fit” because of barriers to access such as not having a car or not having space at home to meet privately. My team members have encouraged me to recognize that when problems seem binary (access services or end services), there is always a third way through (make services more accessible).

Justin Leonti // Outpatient Therapist
Multi-Dimensionality
As Pathways clinicians we have a value of multidimensionality, which I’m imagining you’d get a different definition for with each clinician you ask to define it! This value, to me, really emphasizes the whole humanness of each clinician, person, and human being on our team. Our unique identities, positionalities, life experiences, and orientations not only have a place here, but are valued and celebrated. It’s truly a joy to be a part of this team as my whole self and feel welcomed as such.

Monica Medor // Bilingual Outpatient Therapist
Self Care/Preservation of the Self
​At Pathways, we prioritize caring for ourselves as individuals in the different ways we each find healing. With the encouragement of team members and supervisors I have felt grounded and balanced by starting my own therapy and by taking time off to nourish myself when needed.

Selene Fabiano // Assistant Director Mosaic Outpatient & Pathways Counseling
Connection and Learning from One Another
When I started at Seneca in April 2021, I was impressed by the organization’s commitment to building strong relationships, not just with clients and families, but also between staff.  Building relationships and lifelong learning are key values for Pathways.  At work I put this value into practice by seeking opportunities in which our team can learn and share ideas together. Last year I shared a list of offerings by the Ackerman Institute for the Family as possible trainings our clinical team could view and discuss together.  The team selected two excellent talks which we then viewed and discussed together.  We found it so valuable that we have chosen another two trainings to watch and discuss this year.  ​

​This month the Berkeley team said goodbye to one of our most seasoned and incredible clinicians, Jalecia Jones. We are excited to still have her working at Seneca as she was recently promoted to Clinical Supervisor for the UE West Bay Programs. We are so happy for her and the team at West Bay. Jalecia served the Berkeley Program for 12 years as a mental health counselor initially and then as our lead clinician. She built strong relationships with the kids and their families along with external providers and the internal team. While we will miss her greatly, she is going to be a great addition to the West Bay Team. She brings with her not only her clinical experience and skillset, but a caring heart that is genuinely invested in the kids and the families we serve. Her team members have all been touched and impacted by Jalecia over the years and we all wish her nothing but the best in her next career adventure. We got to spend some quality team time together to celebrate and honor Jalecia and below is a fun photo of most of the team at Berkeley

​For this week’s blog post, I’d like to introduce our newest partnership here in Los Angeles: Alliance Piera Barbaglia Shaheen Health Services Academy (or “HSA” for short). HSA is one of twenty-five schools in the Alliance College Ready Public Schools network here in LA. Opened in 2009, HSA employs the theme of health care to provide high school students with rigorous college-preparatory instruction and application-based curriculum. The school’s mission is to equip students in South Los Angeles with the tools necessary to excel in high school, to prepare them to enter and succeed in college, and to motivate them to select health care-related majors and careers—areas where students of color like those in HSA’s community are grossly underrepresented.
 
Through the support of a grant from Los Angeles Unified School District, we’ve partnered with HSA to implement the Unconditional Education model beginning this school year through the support of a full-time Unconditional Education coach. HSA’s Coach, Risha Buntyn, hit the ground running this fall and has since lifted a number of new school-wide initiatives with the support of several HSA teams. Some highlights of this work include:

• Monthly Culture Committee meetings to provide staff a formal way to share decision-making and collaborate on school-wide systems-building
• Implementing school-wide PBIS strategies and Alternatives to Suspension model through HSA’s School Culture Team
• Developing systems to collect and use observation/walkthrough data to reinforce positive behavior and school culture expectations
• Adapting and implementing Seneca’s coordination of services team model through HSA’s collaborative “MTSS Team” processes
• Redesigning a scholar support room for students to de-escalate and facilitate mediations for peer conflicts
• Lifting scholar voice, decision-making, and sense of belonging through the Advisory Student Board, Black Student Union, weekly lunchtime scholar focus groups, and events like Latinx Heritage and Black History Month assemblies
• Designing and implementing systems to promote staff voice and appreciation, including a weekly “Wolf Den” huddle to celebrate staff successes and to announce “Wolf of the Week” (staff), as well as monthly on- and off-site staff events

HSA’s leadership, staff, and scholars have been incredible and encouraging hosts and we feel incredibly aligned in our shared work. We are thankful for their support and are hopeful for continued partnership in the years ahead!

​One of the values that we hold as UE Berkeley Public Schools Program is building community with our students. This year our teacher, Mrs. Nautu and Mental Health Counselors are collaborating in having a weekly cooking class with our life skills students. Every week students choose a different dish to cook, make a grocery list, and practice budgeting when prepping for cooking class. Aside of learning new dishes, students are encouraged to share and teach other dishes from their cultures and family traditions. 
 
 For the first time this year, we collaborated with another Special Education program on campus and hosted a community Fall Celebration. We had many of our students, staff, and school staff participate. It was beautiful to see our students cook up so many amazing dishes while engaging in community with their peers and teachers. We hope to make this an every year tradition!