Coalition

Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day! One of our favorite things about the FACES Program is getting to know our students, who come from so many different cultures and lived experiences. Today, we are amplifying the voice of Crystal Coriz, a recent FACES graduate from the Native American Community Academy in Albuquerque, NM. Here’s Crystal’s note to all of you:

Hello everyone, my name is Crystal Coriz and I am a freshman attending the University of New Mexico (UNM). I was born and raised in Alburquerque, New Mexico where I have represented my Navajo and Santo Domingo background for 18 years. While attending school at Native American Community Academy (NACA) I had become increasingly interested in pharmacy, especially during my Junior year of high school. As a result, I am majoring in pharmaceutical sciences and plan to complete my dual degree in a Master of Science and PharmD after receiving my Bachelor of Science. However, I found that despite the many resources provided at UNM there are many struggles I continue to face. Within my Introduction to Pharmacy, I have found through the experiences I received from FACES and CNM does not compare to my classmates. I found it increasingly obvious that my classmates had greater access to resources such as tutors found within the family, participating in classes and programs about pharmacy, and some who have already taken tests involving their expertise. It was important to ask questions myself in order to keep up with the instructor’s expectations but I found that my background held me back. Understandably, receiving an education takes a bunch of time and effort and for many Indigenous families, these demands can influence where money should be placed. This is why I found it hard to provide myself with the much-needed resources I needed prior to class as my classmates have done. However, this hasn’t discouraged me from pursuing my major because despite my background I have found myself becoming more independent in asking for help and reaching out to those who could help. FACES has taught me to look forward to serving a purpose I believe is worth my time by creating resources and opportunities for myself and future healthcare workers. This is an experience I will address in the years to come and will always be excited about what is to come at UNM, especially with the help of FACES. Wish me good luck and my future endeavors within the health field.

– Crystal Coriz

FACES Students are Awarded with the Leslie Preston Memorial Scholarship

We are excited to announce that the Alameda County Behavioral Health Collaborative has awarded the Leslie Preston Memorial Scholarship to two 2022 FACES graduates: Emma Bracamontes and Adia Jallali. Emma and Adia graduated from our FACES South Alameda County Public Health Youth Corps in May and are already passionate advocates for mental health in their community. We are grateful to the Alameda County Behavioral Health Collaborative for their generosity and partnership.

Leslie Preston was a staunch community advocate working in the field of mental and behavioral health who always brought mission to the forefront of every conversation. As Director of Behavioral Health at La Clinica de La Raza in Oakland, CA, Leslie was a partner in building a FACES program in the Fruitvale neighborhood; focused solely on supporting youth into community-based careers in behavioral health. Leslie was passionate about her work, her family and equity. She was the kind of person who drove those around her to want to be better, and she did this with compassion and heart. This scholarship is the Alameda Behavioral Health Collaborative’s way of remembering and honoring Leslie’s life and legacy.

Emma Bracamontes is one of the recipients of the Leslie Preston Memorial Scholarship in 2022. Emma says that losing several of her peers to suicide, as well as her own lived experiences with mental health challenges, led to her interest in pursuing a mental health profession. She writes, “I am a firm believer in the National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s mission to “make mental health first-aid as commonplace as C.P.R.” . . . I’ve always loved lending a wholehearted and empathetic listening ear to those who need it, and becoming mental health first-aid certified has given me an effective and rewarding way to do so.”

Adia Jallali is another recipient of the Leslie Preston Memorial Scholarship in 2022. Adia hopes to become a Nurse Practitioner with a special focus on mental and behavioral health. She writes, “Being Afghan, mental health is not talked about enough and it is usually undermined in importance. Afghans facing mental health challenges are often scared to speak out in fear of not being understood or feeling judged. Others do not have sufficient information about it and are not properly educated leaving us confused and worried about our mental health. I want to pursue this career so I can provide adequate care and aid to anyone regardless of their race, gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, and to reinforce the fact that mental health is important and it’s normal to struggle with it.”

FACES Stands with our AAPI Community.

It has happened again. Another news story. Another group targeted with hate. Another list of people who have lost their lives because of racism. And another flurry of statements and Twitter feeds and postings.

Our work at FACES has spanned 20 years and four different states. It has supported youth who live in rural communities and urban areas. Our student populations are incredibly diverse and currently FACES students speak 28 languages other than English.

FACES serves communities that have, too often, been silenced. We serve young people who have felt the realities of institutional racism, bigotries of all kinds, and discrimination. We serve young people who have been victims of violence because of the color of their skin, their ethnicity, their gender identity.

The FACES mission is simple. Support young people so they can achieve their dreams, and help them create change by joining the health professions. We believe their presence in health care will change the face of health for others. So when we see racist attacks, it can be difficult to not see the faces of the young people we serve and the families who love them, and the communities who support them. We see the faces of our staff, our employer partners, our educators. We hurt because we know FACES students have been targeted too.

We know that racism is real. We know that Anti-Asian sentiment and violence against Asian Americans is real. Supporting youth is one of our contributions to addressing that problem. Because we know how resilient our students are and we know the passion they have for serving their communities. When we work with them, we feel hope.

But ours is only one response to a racist society that is in the midst of a reckoning. There are many things that need to be done. On all layers of our consciousness and society – from our leaders to each one of us as individuals. We need change. We need protection for our neighbors. ALL of our neighbors.

At FACES, we don’t have all of the answers, but we do know we need to do better than another news story. We stand with our AAPI students, their families, their communities and we will continue our commitment to support them and work to keep them safe.

FACES Highlighted in American Public Health Association

This week was an exciting one for the FACES for the Future Coalition! Not once, but TWICE, the FACES program was highlighted at the 2020 American Public Health Association virtual conference (https://www.apha.org/ ).

First, FACES was presented as a promising practice program model for our work in the National Diversity Workforce Pipeline Program in partnership with the Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Over the past five years with OMH funding, FACES continued program growth in California; began expanding nationally in New Mexico and Michigan; developed standardized protocols, evaluation metrics, curriculum and staff professional development tools that support programs; and innovated with projects like “Innovations in Simulation” – a partnership with Samuel Merritt University. During that time, 407 students speaking 26 languages were supported with safety net wellness services, given access to internships and mentored by health professionals. 99.5% of the students graduated from high school on time and 97.4% were engaged in post-secondary health career paths including employment, professional certification and 2- and 4-year college. We are SO proud of all of their hard work! (https://apha.confex.com/apha/2020/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/474400 )

Second, FACES worked with Dr. Lynn Silver and Dr. Alisa Padon at Public Health Institute to learn more about changes in youth perception and usage of cannabis after legalization. Leveraging the FACES network of programs, staff conducted surveys, held focus groups and worked with students to identify key factors in youth marijuana usage. The FACES team also worked with youth on identifying opportunities for advocacy focused on delaying first age of usage and thinking through the reasons that young people may be using marijuana. Funded by the Conrad Hilton Foundation, the findings of this project will help inform policy and advocacy efforts on the issue moving forward as we continue to work to protect the health and well-being of young people. (https://apha.confex.com/apha/2020/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/481261 )

We want to thank all of the partners who make this work possible. We celebrate this week with you all and we celebrate the amazing, resilient young people we work with every day. They teach us and show us a more equitable and promising future than we could imagine on our own.