Cultural Traditions and Connections Blog

By Sandra T. Chang, Ph.D., Cultural Competency Unit Program Manager 

The ARDI Division – Cultural Competency Unit (CCU) is celebrating its completion of the annual 2023 Cultural Competence Plan Report, which is based on the Cultural Competence Plan Requirements (CCPR) set forth by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). The report is a systemwide narrative that features the remarkable work by LACDMH programs to serve L.A. County communities with culturally and linguistically mindful, inclusive, equitable, and relevant approaches. For 2023, the CCU interacted with over 60 departmental sources of information inclusive of administrative and clinical programs. All these efforts culminated in comprehensive and informative report, which was praised during the 2023 External Quality Review Organization (EQRO) system review during the week October 16th.

The 460-page report is organized in the following eight areas of required content:

• Criterion (CR)1: Overview of LACDMH’s commitment to cultural, linguistic and equitable service delivery

• CR 2: Data, assessment, and analysis of service delivery by race/ ethnicity, gender identity, age group, language, Service Area, Medi-Cal and 133% Federal Poverty Level and three MHSA components

• CR 3: Strategies to reducing racial/ethnic, cultural and linguistic disparities
• CR 4: Demographics, goals and activities of the LACDMH Cultural

Competency Committee

• CR5: Cultural competence-related trainings available to the workforce
• CR 6: Efforts to develop a culturally and linguistically diverse workforce
• CR 7: Linguistic capacity of the system
• CR 8: Adaptation of services to serve the community in innovative ways

It is my professional joy and pride as the CCU’s program manager to publicly recognize and praise the staff who made this monumental endeavor possible:

• Hyun Lee, Clinical Psychologist II
• Guadalupe Aguilar, Intermediate Typist Clerk
• Christine De La Cruz, Mental Health Services Coordinator II

Their steadfast commitment, dedication, and relentless teamwork provided a strong foundation for the long journey leading to the successful completion of the report. A special acknowledgment is given to Dr. Hyun Lee for her multiple contributions throughout the process of report development. Additionally, other members of the CCU and the ARDI Division provided invaluable support by submitting content in their areas of expertise and serving as internal reviewers of the report at the time it was in draft form. Special thankfulness and appreciation are expressed to Dr. Rebecca Gitlin, Dr. Luis Guzman, Dr. Anna Yaralyan, Mr. Julio Celada, Ms. Regina Ramirez, Ms. Kelly Wilkerson, and Ms. Adriana Carrillo. Additionally, the team effort leading to the 2023 Cultural Competence Plan Report completion included the remarkable support received from the Prevention Bureau – ARDI Division management as well as members of the executive management team. The CCU is particularly grateful to Ms. Connie Draxler – Acting Chief Deputy Director, Ms. Mary Barraza – Senior Deputy for Prevention and Child Wellbeing Administration, Dr. Robert Byrd – Prevention Bureau Deputy Director and Ms. Mirtala Parada Ward – ARDI Division Program Manager III.

Together, the ARDI Division – CCU acknowledges and extends its gratefulness to all programs who provided key information for inclusion in the 2023 Cultural Competence Plan Report. These key programs exemplify the collective impact of day-to-day departmental operations in service of Los Angeles County’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities. We take the opportunity to honor them for their invaluable contributions. In the words of the famous philosopher Voltaire, “Appreciation is a wonderful thing: it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” Thank you all for sharing your subject matter expertise, time, and quality reporting leading to the comprehensive systemwide report.

• Administrative Services Division
• Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program (AOT)
• CalWORKs (California Work Opportunity and Responsibility for Kids) and General Relief Opportunities for Work (GROW) Programs
• Chief Information Office Bureau (CIOB)
• Application Development Team
• VSEE
• Child Welfare Division
• Crisis Residential Treatment Program
• DMH/DHS Collaboration Program
• Emergency Outreach and Triage Division
  • Law Enforcement Teams
  • Psychiatric Mobile Response Team (PMRT) and Therapeutic Transport Team (TTT)
  • School Threat Assessment Response Team (START) Program
• Enriched Residential Care Program
• Faith-Based Advocacy Council
• Full Service Partnership
• Geriatric Evaluation Networks Encompassing Services Intervention Support (GENESIS) Program
• Help Line-ACCESS Center
• Homeless Outreach Mobile Engagement (HOME) Program
• Housing and Job Development Division
• Housing and Supportive Services Program
• Human Resources Bureau (HRB)
• Linkage Programs
• Maternal Mental Health
• Men’s Community Re-Entry Program
• MHSA Administration and Oversight Division
• Outpatient Services Division
• Transition Age Drop-In Centers
• Wellness Outreach Workers (WOW)
• Prevention and Early Intervention (Older Adults) – Anti-Stigma and Discrimination Team
• Older Adult Service Extenders
• Patient’s Rights Office
• Peer Run Centers
• Prevent Homelessness and Promote Health
• Prevention Bureau
• Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion (ARDI) Division
• Community Ambassador Network
• Cultural Competency Committee (CCC)
• Cultural Competency Unit (CCU)
• Health Neighborhoods
• Language Assistance Services Team
• LBGTQIA2-Clinical Consultation Team/Champion Network
• My Health Los Angeles (MHLA)
• Promotores de Salud & United Mental Health Promoters Programs
• School-based Community Access Point
• Spanish Support Groups
• Speakers Bureau
• Underserved Cultural Communities (UsCC) Unit and Subcommittees
• Public Information Office (PIO)
• Quality Assurance (QA) Division
• Quality, Outcomes and Training Division (QOTD)
• Quality Improvement (QI) Unit
• Training Unit
• Stakeholder Process
  • Community Leadership Team (CLT)
• Telemental Health Program
• Transition Age Navigation Team
• Transition Age Youth Drop-In Centers (TAY)
• Urgent Care Centers
• Veteran Peer Access Network (VPAN)
• Women’s Community Re-Entry Program

The 2023 Cultural Competence Plan report will soon be accessible at the Cultural Competence Unit’s web page: Cultural Competency Unit – Department of Mental Health (lacounty.gov)

by Johnathan Maravillas, Community Member

Through food, we are exposed to the culinary artists’ culture and way of life. Similarly, to cooking competitions like Master Chef and the Great British Bake Off, I joined a competition where the chefs had to use solemnly native Mesoamerican ingredients. This opportunity came during a time in my life when I was connecting with my native roots. As a native of the Wixárica subtribe from Nayarit, Mexico, I want to invite you to find your element in Mesoamerican cuisine. Here are some vegetables whose origins you might not have realized: Squash, chiles, tomato, tomatillo, zapote, avocado, and papaya are native to the Mesoamerican region while peppercorn, cilantro, aloe vera, rosemary, lettuce, and garlic are foreign to the Americas.

Cooking the traditional cuisine of my ancestors is part of my self-care. My recovery journey started when I realized my family was not spared from generational trauma. My great, great grandparents were taught to hide and deny their Wixárica roots to prevent persecution and death. Thankfully, I have stopped the pattern and no longer pass down the shame my parents battled with for years. My son embraces his identity and takes part in native activities. Both my wife and I use traditional ways of cooking and farming that were passed down from our ancestors. We share this knowledge with our son and neighbors. From making ovens from adobe, to participating in a temascal (Mexican sweat lodge), we continue to persevere and heal our family and communities. I leave you with some food for thought. How has your cooking helped others? What dishes do you identify with and are close to your heart? What Mesoamerican ingredients will you eat today?

Jonathan Maravillas is an East L.A. native and entrepreneur. He runs his own business cleaning windows and homeschools his son along with his wife in the tradition of native wisdom. They were part of the Native Based Cultural Center which is now closed. His family is working to start a new center to teach native practices of Mesoamerica free of charge. To get involved, please contact Mr. Maravillas at (323) 404-4730.

Juneteenth flag designed by Ben Haith (“Boston Ben”) & refined by L.J. Graf; learn more about this flag’s symbolism here.

By James Coomes, LCSW, Olive View Program Manager and DMH-ARDI Staff Advisory Council member

I wanted to share with you a little bit about Juneteenth, which was recently celebrated on June 19th, 2022, the second year that it is officially recognized as a Federal holiday in our nation’s history. Juneteenth was established on June 19^th, 1865 in Galveston, Texas, when Union General Gordon Granger and his troops arrived at the end of the civil war. The civil war had ended two months prior and the emancipation proclamation had been signed two years prior. It took this amount of time for Union soldiers to reach Galveston Texas and inform those enslaved on plantations that they were now free. It is my understanding that three days of celebration erupted and included food, dance, music, culture, and family.

I’ve been celebrating Juneteenth for the last 15 years myself. I go to a church in Pasadena called Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church, and we have been working really hard within the denomination for the past 25 years to address issues of racial equity, justice, and inclusion. It is a liberally religious denomination, but it like a lot of the work we do, struggles with institutionalized structures that have not necessarily been welcoming to all comers. A small group that I’m involved in called Neighborhood People of Color decided we wanted to have a Juneteenth celebration every year. We spend a Saturday cooking ribs and chicken for the entire congregation and community members. On Sunday we reheat, cook hot links, and invite the community to bring potluck dishes. This has easily become one of my favorite events at my church and it’s become a really important community event for our congregation.

We took this on in part because we wanted to celebrate and enjoy each other’s company and reach out to the larger community, stigma-free, to participate in this national celebration. Over the last three years, Juneteenth is taken on additional significance. We have collectively experienced issues of racial inequality, hostility, and pain in the Black community and in other communities of color. Last year the federal government named Juneteenth a federal holiday, and many labeled it a second Independence Day. Doing this was significant to acknowledge the experience of African Americans, and has lifted up that that despite not having universal acceptance, it is important to acknowledge this history and these struggles and where we are at in American culture. This month, we celebrate Bebe Moore Campbell Minority Mental Health Month. Although Juneteenth happened last month, we wanted to take a few moments to just acknowledge this important day and its important time in America’s ever-evolving history.

by Mercedes Moreno, LACDMH Cultural Competency Committee Member

I was born in El Salvador, Central America.  My mother was a single parent raising five children, four daughters and one son.  I was the eldest of the family.  From the moment I was born, I never used shoes until I was nine years old.  My brother began working and he was the one who bought me my first pair of shoes.  We lived in a tin roof home with walls made of palm leaves from coconut trees.  In the winter, thunder and lightning would scare me because the strong winds would blow away the palm walls of our home.  We would end up drenched and without a home as a result of these relentless storms.  I remember the yard would be inundated and it would all turn to mud.  There was no drinking water, restroom, or electricity.  But I had fun playing in the rain and playing make believe with my friends.

When I was four years old, I was very sick from diarrhea and as a result, my belly grew large, and my legs became swollen.  After a stay in the hospital, my legs returned to normal, but my belly stayed enlarged.  In first grade, I went to school barefoot, at least until my brother was able to buy me my shoes.  When I was ten years old, I was in charge of chores at home while my mother worked.  My three older sisters attended school.  During this time that I was alone at home, I was sexually abused by a neighbor.  As a result, I could no longer attend school during the daytime, I had to attend night school due to the societal norms that looked down upon me for having been raped.

As a teenager my stomach was still large.  When I was fifteen years old, I fell in love with an older married man.  I had unprotected sex and ended up pregnant.  I had no clue how children were born.  I thought they were born out of one’s mouth.  I ended up leaving my home because I was scared.  I did not inform the man I was with about my pregnancy.  I went to look for work in the state capital.  After my child was born, I returned to my mother’s home and decided to look for the father of my child.  He denied that my child was his stating that it had been several months since we had intimate relations.  I then filed a petition for him to pay child support, but he never paid a dime. read more…

by Rebecca Gitlin, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist and LGBTQ+ Services Specialist

June is Pride Month, which is a time to uplift and celebrate sexual and gender diversity in our communities. For many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, Two-Spirit (LGBTQIA2-S), and other sexually and gender diverse individuals, Pride Month is a reminder of the importance of visibility, community, and acceptance. This month also represents political resistance for many LGBTQIA2-S community members, as we continue working toward a society that is free from discrimination, bias, and victimization toward diverse genders and sexualities.

Pride Month commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, which took place in New York City. At the time, police harassment toward LGBTQIA2-S community members – drag queens, sex workers, and transgender and gender non-conforming people in particular – was not uncommon. LGBTQIA2-S bars and other gathering spaces were often at risk for police raids and mass arrests. On June 28, 1969, patrons at the Stonewall Inn responded to a police raid with resistance, leading to five days of protest and other political action. The Stonewall Uprising is credited for spearheading the Gay Liberation Movement, which ultimately led to modern-day LGBTQIA2-S liberation movements.

Less known, however, are previous acts of resistance against police violence by LGBTQIA2-S communities in California. In May 1959, patrons at Cooper Do-nuts, a popular hangout for LGBTQIA2-S communities on Main Street in downtown LA, responded to police harassment with resistance and public protest. This is sometimes credited as the first uprising by LGBTQIA2-S communities in the United States. In San Francisco, an uprising occurred in response to police harassment of transgender patrons at Compton’s Cafeteria in August 1966. Just a few months later, a protest at the Black Cat Tavern (which still stands in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighborhood) in response to police harassment and brutality represented one of the first and largest organized public protests for LGBTQIA2-S rights in the country. read more…