The Oxnard Multicultural Mental Health (OMMH) Coalition is Established

Guest

By Armando Vazquez

I have had many battles with mental health and have waged them to exorcise the ghosts of a lifelong illness. Countless brothers and sisters in our community have had their struggles with mental illness, pharm too.  Almost to a person we express the same anger, capsule rage, viagra 60mg alienation, fear, futility, abandonment, worthlessness, a sense that in all our pain we are invisible to the greater society and infected with a disease that no can cure.

I tried to tame my monsters with alcohol and drugs.  They almost killed me.

My therapy and salvation has been my redemptive writing. Nothing seems to help as much as when I put my honest pain to paper. Dirty Little Secrets, Las Salseras and the KEYS Leadership Academy oral and writing programs were born out of need. These programs were developed and designed by Dr. Deborah De Vries and myself to provide a culturally congruent healing treatment for many of our at risk youth and families who live in greater Oxnard.

At Café on A, we shared our mental health issues and concerns.  The community has responded and shared their battles, both victories and defeats. Out of this sharing the Oxnard Multicultural Mental Health (OMMH) Coalition was formed.

At the last OMMH meeting one local activist/expert presented his work in local black community,  and the work that he has done with the County of Ventura with respect to addressing mental health/Alcohol and Drug Disorders treatment disparities. Other member of our coalition enlightened the group about the post Jim Crow racist climate  Blacks and persons of color live through every day, and how the insidious effects of that racism affect local and national societal comportment and norms. Another coalition member spoke about the nontraditional “remedios” for mental health illness  used by the elders of his home community to help alleviate”nervios” (anxiety) using messages, vapor, pomadas , and medicinal herbs. The member went on to state that these mental health “remedios” have a legitimate place in the treatment modalities in the Latino culture.

The OMMH coalition agreed to move forward with mental health multicultural support by conducting a city/county wide special populations (Black, Brown, Red, Yellow, LGBT and others) needs assessment of mental health treatments (both traditional and non-traditional).

Here are the specific goals of The OMMH:

1. The OMMH coalition requires training ASAP to prepare the ambassadors/promotores for the needs assessment/data gathering protocol.
2. The OMMH Coalition should receive training by the California Reducing Disparities project, and have this organization assist in the development, design and roll out of our local and special population’s specific assessment tools and protocols.
3. The OMMH identify local programs, treatments, protocols that work in our special population’s communities, i.e., drum circle, music, dance, writing therapy, KEYS Leadership Academy and any other program that is working to mitigate mental health illness in our community.
4. The OMMH meet with the county and the city political leadership to present our coalition, goals and objectives and secure buy-in and funding to begin this initial special populations mental health assessment tool completed and rolled out into the community with our professionally trained special population ambassadors/promotores.
5. The OMMH continue to meet on a weekly basis so that we can complete the initial mental health assessment and data gathering protocol ASAP.
6. The OMMH expand its current coalition membership so that all special populations can be represented at the ground floor so that they can develop their own assessment protocols that are unique to their populations.
7. The OMMH expand its educational, information and public relations campaign throughout greater Oxnard and Ventura County.

On November 1, 2014, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) of Ventura County issued a scathing expose on the mismanagement of the mental health services delivery to the Latino community throughout Ventura County. We at the OMMH coalition know that we are acutely underserved and largely “invisible” to the current institutional structure. For this reason, the OMMH is wrestling with the “mental health monsters”  and attempting to forge mental health protocols, treatments and programs that are culturally congruent with our minority populations, and in the process helping create a better mental health system for everyone in Ventura County.

Existing Mental Health Service in Oxnard: Ventura County Behavioral Health Oxnard Clinic

We can all get healthy together, if we respect and appreciate each other unique and diverse mental health needs. Please join us.

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Armando Vazquez

Armando Vazquez is a retired CEO, Executive Director, Business-Owner, teacher, community builder, group leader with demonstrated work history designing and implementing a variety of business, management, educational and vocational community support programs. Successful organizer of activities designed to promote and advance individual and community. Well-disciplined consensus builder.

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