Mental health support group targets Latinx community in San Mateo County

As community outreach and Latinx director, Patricia Neme said that she would have loved to see the room overflowing, but when she asked if attendees felt they left more educated and equipped to have more conversations about mental illness, they all replied “yes.” 

That’s reason enough to continue these efforts, she said.

“That’s what we do,” Neme said. “We don’t treat, we teach.” 

NAMI San Mateo offers three classes in both English and Spanish: “NAMI Basics” and “Family to Family” for family and caregivers, and “Peer to Peer” for those with mental illness. These educational programs meet once a week for multiple weeks, completely free of charge, and look to educate and establish support groups. 

Each class’ goal varies slightly in the scope of what is discussed — the basics class serves as an introduction to mental health for family members, while the peer class provides emotional support rather than medical insight. They all hope to provide a space for those going through similar things. 

“They talk about the experiences they have and they give solutions or ideas,” Neme said. “They vent. They support each other on a peer level, on a level with somebody else that suffered the same experience.” 

Though many resources may be available to the individuals with mental illness, NAMI intentionally offers similar supportive measures for loved ones or caregivers, acknowledging the “collateral damage” that some may experience, Neme said. 

Though NAMI’s services have always been available to anyone, exceptional efforts are being made to reach the Spanish-speaking population, specifically.

In Latinx communities, there are prevalent stigmas around mental illness discourse, which can be attributed to anything from religion to immigration experiences, Neme said. This ultimately stifles a significant population in San Mateo County from seeking help or support. 

Whether it’s because their home countries don’t offer similar resources or they worry about insurance or immigration statuses, Neme said many in Latinx households are raised to not complain, cultivating a “si se puede” culture that can conflate resiliency as a reason to not need support.

“It’s something you are not accustomed to talk about, so we have to fight with all those things, the religion, the fear of immigration, the shame of telling somebody the problem that you’re having at home, and that leads to not looking for help,” Neme said. 

“Mental illness doesn’t discriminate,” Neme added. “It doesn’t matter your religion, your origins, your skin, your ethnicity, it doesn’t matter, it can come to anybody.” 

Addressing this stigma is a major goal of the organization, Neme said, and hopes that by meeting the community where they’re at and offering resources in Spanish, it can help promote helpful conversations. 

“If you don’t talk about it, you ignore it, you don’t treat it and you don’t combat the stigma,” she said. “And then you don’t let yourself search for any type of, not just help, but any improvement you can have during your life.” 

NAMI hopes to be the communal support for anyone in need, believing that the more you don’t talk about something, the more harmful it becomes, Neme said. 

“You have to try not to just isolate like they used to back in the day,” she said. “It’s not contagious and it’s the worst thing you can do to help yourself or to help your family member.” 

In addition to basic educational classes offered in Spanish, NAMI is hoping to be more widely available throughout the county, “offering help in the same places you get your groceries.” A new satellite space will be opening in September near East Palo Alto, reaching the predominantly Spanish-speaking population in the south part of the county. Efforts are underway to open another space in north county as well.

“We do not want transportation to be the cause that your life cannot be enhanced,” Neme said. “If you are not coming because you cannot move, because you are depressed, you cannot drive, you cannot walk, we will bring the class to you.”

The importance of making spaces where the community can educate and bond over shared experience is critical, Neme said. 

“Two eyes can see, but four can see better,” she said. “Why would you think that ‘I already exhausted all of the possibilities?’” 

To register for educational weekly courses or attend general meetings, visit namisanmateo.org for more information.