Mira and I received the opportunity to shadow Binh Au, the Crisis Line Director at the Crisis Support Services of Alameda County. As someone who is passionate about access to mental health care in low-income communities of color, I was excited to hear about Binh’s experiences and reflections in the mental health field. Mira and I drove to Oakland and spent the morning interviewing volunteers and listening to crisis calls. In the afternoon, Binh drove us to different crisis centers in Alameda County.

This experience was incredibly eye-opening. My experience in mental health activism has targeted a very specific audience. Bettering the mental health of teenagers in communities like Palo Alto and Menlo Park is necessary; however, we must also look beyond these areas. Annie Kim introduced me to the word “nonserved.” Some communities in the Bay Area are not underserved in terms of mental health care but are actually not served. There are little to no resources to support these individuals. Furthermore, there is a serious lack of funding and staff in the crisis centers that do exist.

From this experience, I became interested in learning about the diversity of mental health care professionals. Binh showed us a wall with pictures of staff members and volunteers. I was surprised to see that the majority of the individuals were white. I wondered if communities of color were less willing to utilize the crisis center’s resources because of this. As a queer woman of color, I felt even more empowered to explore careers in mental health care.

My last key observation can be summarized by a single word: awe. Listening to Binh and the other volunteers utilize their empathy skills and patience to support struggling individuals was extremely powerful. I admire them for being able to handle the weight of their clients’ emotions and still come home to their families at the end of the day. I left the center feeling grateful for their work and empowered to one day better mental health care systems in communities around the country. ~ Samina, Core

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Shadowing Binh Au at the Crisis Support Services of Alameda County was an eye-opening experience because it exposed me to a community and service so rarely discussed. Driving to the crisis center in Oakland immediately exposed the bubble we, as SafeSpace members, do our work in. We service our schools and direct community very well, but there is a larger population close by that has little to no resources. As community members passionate about mental health, we should all make an effort to learn about those outside our bubble and what we can do to help.

One observation that stood out to me greatly was the lack of diversity within employees and volunteers at the center. When needing something as personal as mental health care and support, callers want to feel understood. However, most of the agents were white, and can often not understand the cultural background of several callers. Bihn explained that the center does not have enough funding or appeal to hire more diverse employees. This revealed a much-needed improvement for centers like these, but also a call for more diversity and funding for all mental health care.

Additionally, Binh explained that they try to involve the police as little as possible with crisis calls. After questioning this for a while, it made absolute sense to me. Several groups of people have felt targeted by the police, especially in recent years. If someone scared of the police was in a crisis situation, they would undoubtedly be terrified by police cars showing up to their house with their sirens blaring and their guns out. I was shocked to find out that not all police officers were required to take training to manage crisis situations. To me, this exposed a need to reform the law enforcement system so that all officers can be equipped to prevent crises correctly.

Listening to crisis calls and being in such an underserved environment was very heartbreaking; however, I felt a strong sense of hope from Binh and in the office. The agents at the center are told to focus on the light in the caller's lives and what they might hold onto for just another day. It was inspiring to see that in the face of such tragedy in these people’s lives, they still found the strength and hope to call, confide in someone, and seek help. This trip was so inspiring; I will definitely keep what I learned in mind as I work more with mental health advocacy and care. ~ Mira D., Core, Digital Media & Resource Lead