NAMI 加州年會 | NAMI California Conference | August 2023

     A sea of yellow shirts floods the California State Capitol in Sacramento as NAMI California kicks off its annual conference with Advocacy Day. Members from near and far have gathered here to advocate for mental health awareness, and more importantly, mental health action. Direct visits to local elected officials right in their offices ensured that NAMI California’s presence was felt and that its collective voice was heard. 

     Following the pre-conference events of Advocacy Day, the conference officially began the next day with an opening from President of NAMI Sacramento Isaac Gonzalez, Youth Mental Health Advocate Ella Cruz, and CEO of NAMI California Jessica Cruz. Armando Gonzáles aka Dr. Mondo, founder and CEO of Cheatcode, followed with an empowering speech that left a lingering buzz in the air.

     With much to do, MHACC’s team split up to tackle as much as possible at the conference. While some managed the outreach booth, others attended meetings to discuss and learn about relevant topics like crisis response, self-care, criminal justice, and more. Q&A sessions titled “Ask the Doctors” offered a more in-depth insight into mental health topics like anxiety, mood disorders, schizophrenia, etc. from the perspectives of experienced professionals. 

     Day 2 continued with more Q&As as well as an afternoon of workshops, including one led by our very own Elaine Peng and Rachael Chan. Together, they discussed an important topic to MHACC: Addressing individual and community trauma under Anti-Asian hate. Other workshops during the day covered topics including mental health stigma, caregivers, self-advocacy, and more. Despite no shortage of work to be done, the conference ends up being quite a fun experience. With a group of like-minded individuals in pursuit of the same goal, sharing stories and learning things from one another made NAMI California’s 2023 conference one to remember. 

 NAMI 加州年度會議的第一日以倡導日拉開序幕，黃色襯衫的海洋淹沒了位於薩克拉門託的加州議會大廈。 來自四面八方的成員聚集在這裡，倡導心理健康意識，更重要的是倡導心理健康行動。他們 直接拜訪當地民選官員的辦公室，確保官員們感受到 NAMI 加州的存在，並聽到整個集體聲音。

繼倡導日的活動之後，會議於第二天正式開始，由 NAMI 薩克拉門托的主席 Isaac Gonzalez 、青年心理健康倡導者 Ella Cruz 和 NAMI 加州 首席執行官 Jessica Cruz 致開幕詞。 Armando Gonzáles（又名 Mondo 博士）是 Cheatcode 的創始人兼首席執行官，他在隨後發表了一場充滿力量的演講，引起了熱烈的討論。

由於要做的事情很多，MHACC 的團隊在會議上分頭參加盡可能多的活動。 有些人負責管理外展攤位，有些人則參加會議，討論並了解危機應變、自我照顧、刑事司法等相關主題。 例如，題為「問醫生」的問答環節從經驗豐富的專業人士的角度更深入地探討了焦慮、情緒障礙、精神分裂症等心理健康主題。

大會的第二天繼續開展了更多問答以及一整個下午的研討會，其中包括我們MHACC的團隊，由 Elaine Peng 和 Rachael Chan 主持的研討會。 她們提出了一個重要議題：如何解決反亞裔仇恨下的個人和社區創傷。 當天的其他研討會涵蓋的主題包括心理健康恥辱、護理人員、自我倡導等。 儘管有不少工作需要完善，但整個會議還是一次非常有意義的經驗。 一群志同道合的人追求同一目標，分享故事，並互相學習，使 2023 年 NAMI 加州會議成為一次難忘的會議。