Caminar Connections: August 2022

Thank you for being a part of the Caminar community! I want to share a brief update on the impact of your contribution to support Caminar's work this last year

‍FROM MARK: THE IMPACT OF YOUR SUPPORT LAST YEAR

Dear Friends,‍

Thank you for being a part of the Caminar community! I want to share a brief update on the impact of your contribution to support Caminar's work this last year, as Caminar's fiscal year 21-22 ended on June 30, 2022.

In July of 2021, we launched the Behavioral Health Equity Fund to respond to the persistent and heightened impact of COVID-19 and its behavioral health toll on lower-income BIPOC communities and adolescents.

The goal was to raise $400,000 additional funds to support expanding services to treat adolescents, individuals, and families disproportionately suffering from COVID-19's behavioral health impact.

Thanks to you and all our generous donors and funders, we exceeded our goal and raised over $635,000! Thank you for your commitment to improving the quality of life for our most at-risk neighbors. Here are some highlights of the work you helped make possible:

Delivered high-quality, compassionate, evidence-based treatment for complex mental health and substance use conditions
Reinforced wrap-around services that address the social determinants of health, including
- Jobs Plus Supported Employment
- Supported Housing
- Supported Education
Expanded services in our LGBTQ Youth Space and LGBTQ Wellness Programs
Launched an adolescent behavioral health awareness campaign funded by a grant from Sutter Health / Palo Alto Medical Foundation, which reached 200,000 local adolescents last holiday season and continues today
Presented Caminar's Speakers Series featuring Dr. Hardy, who brought his expertise on racism to our supporters and the general public, free of charge, in the spring
Designed and built a program model to reach and serve under-insured adolescents and their families struggling to access quality mental health and substance use treatment

As we start this new fiscal year, we focus on creating our Adolescent, Young Adult, and Family Treatment Center in Palo Alto with reduced-rate services to ensure those who are underinsured do not fall through the cracks. We are also expanding school-based services because we know that youth and adolescents are more likely to access the counseling they need when offered into schools at no cost to the family.

Thank you for your compassion and generosity; together, we can help.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have an interest in learning more about ways to get involved with Caminar or to share your thoughts – I value your feedback.

With gratitude,
Mark Cloutier, MPP, MPH
CEO

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INTRODUCING THE NEWEST ADDITIONS TO OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

We are thrilled to welcome Kalimah Salahuddin to Caminar's Board of Directors.

Community health has always been one of the drivers for Kalimah Salahuddin. That work led her to serve on the Jefferson Union High School District Board of Education after being elected in 2012 and on the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County Board, where she was appointed in 2019. During the COVID-19 crisis, she was one of the founding members of the REACH Coalition to advocate for equity and community health for all. As a result, she was asked to serve on the Leadership Council for the Recovery Initiative for San Mateo County.

Previously she served as a Board Member for Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco from 2015 to 2019 and was inducted into the San Mateo County Woman's Hall of Fame in 2018. She is currently employed at Exelixis on the Investor Relations / Public Affairs team. Her most outstanding achievement is being a mother to her three beautiful adults.

Kalimah’s deep commitment to, and expertise in, community health is a tremendous asset to our Board of Directors.

We are delighted to also welcome Inessa Shishmanyan to our Board of Directors.

Inessa is the Chief Financial Officer at Peninsula Family Service, a San Mateo-based nonprofit agency that works to provide children, families, and older adults support and tools to realize their full potential and lead healthy, stable lives.

Born and raised in Armenia, Inessa currently resides in San Mateo. Her commitment to serving others was inspired by the challenges brought by the regional military conflict she experienced growing up in Armenia. Inessa is passionate about human services, anti-racism, and advancing equity. Those passions brought her to Caminar’s board, where she is focused on advancing solutions to those issues and shedding light on challenges nonprofit staff and leadership are experiencing in their work.

We are grateful for Inessa’s deep commitment to improving the health and well-being of individuals and families in our community and thrilled she has joined the Caminar Board. ‍

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JOIN US OCTOBER 8!

Please join us on October 8 for In Celebration with Caminar: An Evening of Cause, Community, and Connection featuring Oscar winning actress, activist, and author Marlee Matlin.

This is Caminar’s largest fundraising event of the year and will raise crucial funds and awareness of the behavioral health needs of our community’s most vulnerable individuals and families.

Register now to join us on Saturday, October 8, at 6pm at the Fox Theatre Redwood City for a celebration with cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, live music, friends, an exciting speaker, and more!

Learn more and register!