RAMS earned its CARF Accreditation with a Perfect Score!
Every three years, RAMS and its Hire-Ability Employment Services program must be evaluated by the Commission on Accreditation for Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), which assesses and accredits over 60,000 behavioral health, employment, and other community services across the globe. CARF assesses programs for roughly 20 factors including cultural competence, financial management, program management, health and safety, and others.
We are proud to announce that, last week, CARF awarded us a perfect score! RAMS is among the top 1-2% of CARF-accredited programs to achieve this in the world. Not only is achieving a perfect score on this prestigious assessment unheard of, this is actually the second time that we have achieved this during the last five CARF reviews!
Through numerous interviews with employees, community partners, and program participants, CARF reported that:
- Community partners said that the RAMS team is “supportive, empowering, impactful, diverse, [compassionate], responsive, flexible.”
- “The organization is truly participant driven.”
- Clients reported that “their dreams desires, and rights are respected by staff” and “RAMS Hire-Ability has the most caring staff that any organization can have”
We are incredibly proud of our team for how they imbue their work with dedication and compassion.
CARF Accreditation
RAMS Hire-Ability Vocational Services Employment Services program will be undergoing reaccreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), the most prestigious international accreditation for rehabilitation programs on December 5th & 6th 2022. RAMS has successfully reached the highest level of accreditation of three years consistently for the last 15 years. We look forward to a successful survey visit and re-accreditation.
Peer Speaking Engagements
The team at RAMS Division of Peer-Based Services has been invited to present at two mental health conferences.
The RAMS Division of Peer-Based Services have been invited to speak at the Mindset College Conference, a virtual event organized through a collaborative effort from four NGOs based in Hong Kong: Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service, Caritas Hong Kong, The Mental Health Association of Hong Kong and New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association. The conference “aims to provide recovery-focused trainings and courses on mental health for people-in-recovery, caregivers, mental health practitioners and anyone who is concerned about mental health.” This year, the theme of the conference is Recovery, Coproduction, and Peer Development. The conference will take place via Zoom on April 2023. More details will be available early next year.
One of our esteemed Peer Supervisors, Vania Mendoza has been invited to join a in-person panel presentation at the NARPA conference (National Association for Rights, Protection, and Advocacy). NARPA’S mission is to support people with psychiatric diagnoses to exercise their legal and human rights, with the goals of abolishing forced treatment and ensuring autonomy, dignity and choice. The conference will take place in Newark, New Jersey from October 26-29. Additional information about NARPA can be found on http://narpa.org/
We’re proud to have peer staff with such high levels of expertise sought after at both the national and international level.
RAMS, Inc. Chosen as a 2022 Nonprofit of the Year by Assembly member Philip Ting
San Francisco, CA – RAMS, Inc. is proud to announce its selection as a 2022 California Nonprofit of the Year by Assembly member Philip Ting. RAMS is one of more than one hundred nonprofits that will be honored by their state senators and assembly members for their outstanding contributions to the communities they serve in Sacramento on June 8th, 2022.
RAMS is a non-profit mental health organization committed to advocating for and providing community-based, culturally competent, and consumer-guided services. Founded in San Francisco’s Richmond District in 1974, RAMS offers comprehensive services that aim to meet the behavioral health, social, vocational, and educational needs of the diverse communities of the San Francisco Bay Area, with expertise in serving Asian & Pacific Island Americans and Russian-speaking populations.
“This amazing honor reflects years of hard work, sacrifice and creativity by the RAMS team”, shared RAMS CEO Jayvon Muhammad, “RAMS looks forward to continuing to serve the community with the highest level of quality while responding and adapting to constant change.”
According to “Causes Count,” a 2019 report commissioned by CalNonprofits, the nonprofit sector is the 4th largest industry in the state, employing more than 1.2 million people. Each year, California nonprofits generate more than $273 billion in revenue and bring in $40 billion in revenue from outside of California. The unpaid labor contributed by volunteers at nonprofits is equivalent to 330,000 full-time jobs every year.
“Nonprofit organizations play such a critical role in our communities, and the last two years of the pandemic have only served to highlight that.” noted Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits), which serves as a partner for this awards program. “California Nonprofit of the Year gives elected officials the opportunity to shine a light on the important work nonprofits are doing in their districts and for everyone to appreciate the collective impact of nonprofits in our communities.”
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Additional CalNonprofits Background
California Nonprofits Day is now in its seventh year. Each year legislators from across California choose a Nonprofit of the Year in their district.
Honorees and legislators are invited by CalNonprofits, Chair of the Senate Select Committee on the Nonprofit Sector Senator Monique Limón (Santa Barbara), and Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on the Nonprofit Sector Assemblymember Luz Rivas to a celebratory luncheon on California Nonprofits Day – Jun 8, 2022.
Do you have additional questions about CalNonprofits? Lauren Kay, Director of Communications & Marketing at CalNonprofits, would love to help! Contact her at laurenk@calnonprofits.org or call 213-552-1768.
Asian and Pacific American Mental Health Day
In honor of Asian and Pacific American Mental Health Day on May 10, Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc. (RAMS) will proudly host a virtual showcase of beautiful ways that the multitude of Asian and Pacific Islander cultures have developed to maintain their mental health. As wellness is an active practice, join us in active learning through our highly experienced panel of experts in yoga, Siva dance, mandala drawing, meditation, and cooking demos!
Many of our presenters are well-versed, not only in the activities they’re teaching, but also in how the traditional art benefits mental health. For a few examples: Siva Dance is taught by Siva4Wellness, mandala drawing is taught by Joyce Diloy from Works in SOMA Mental Health Clinic, and the meditation worksop is led by RAMS’ Peer Division’s Stephen Leader. As outlined below, Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) underutilize mental health services compared to the general population, often due to deep-rooted cultural stigmas. Many API cultures have ancient wellness practices still used today so it’s a misconception that API individuals and families do not care about mental health. However, these practices are not replacements for therapy nor is psychotherapy a replacement for cultural wellness practices. Therapy can nourish the spirit and activities like yoga, dance, meditation, or cooking can be therapeutic. As you join us in celebrating Asian and Pacific American Mental Health Day, we will highlight how one’s mental wellness often involves a combination of activities as we learn from professionals in both psychology and traditional arts. Although the event showcases wellness practices across different API cultures, all individuals of any background are welcome to attend.
The event will be held virtually on our Facebook page.
About Mental Health Conditions
- Roughly one in five U.S. adults are impacted by at least one mental health condition according to the National Institute of Mental Health
- Nearly half of youth 13-18 years old are impacted by at least one mental health condition according to National Institute of Mental Health
- API adults have the lowest help-seeking rate with only 22% of API adults with a mental illness seeking services in 2019 according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
- According to the National Health Expenditure Accounts in 2020, total mental health costs are greater than any other health-related expense at $201 Billion. This far outpaces other leading expenses like those for heart conditions, trauma, and cancer.
- Untreated mental illness costs the nation $113 billion annually according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness
About Asian and Pacific American Mental Health Day
May is established nationally as both Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness month. In 2010, RAMS spearheaded the effort to establish May 10 as the Asian Pacific American Mental Health Day in the State of California and the City and County of San Francisco. APA Mental Health Day has since been established in other cities like Austin, Texas. At the confluence of both Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness month, APA Mental Health Day recognizes the importance of raising awareness about mental health and promoting mental wellness in the Asian and Pacific Islander community.
The Rise of Fentanyl is No Accident, and It’s Not Going Away
Doug Russell, a RAMS Peer Counselor, has written and published a powerful article on The San Francisco Standard titled “The Rise of Fentanyl Is No Accident, and It’s Not Going Away.” It is an honest perspective on how Fentanyl came to be a street drug and the danger it presents as it becomes the new normal for many drug users. To check out the article, click here.
Doug Russell is a RAMS Peer Counselor who is working within the DPH Street Medicine Team based out of 50 Ivy. As part of his own journey in recovery, Doug became passionate about low-threshold services for folks after working with the homeless population as a counselor at the 6th Street Harm Reduction Clinic. He is in the process of developing groups to broaden the support available for the fentanyl-using population of San Francisco and a slam poetry process group that hopefully will bring Narrative Therapy to an open mic platform. In his spare time, he is often seen either in full drag or barely covered as a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence and scoping out available walls for his Public Art project: Queer Artists for Queer Spaces.
Giving Tuesday and SCRT’s One-Year Anniversary!
Today marks the Street Crisis Response Team’s (SCRT) one-year anniversary. SCRT has grown from a single team supporting the Tenderloin neighborhood to six teams providing San Francisco with 24/7 citywide coverage in one year. SCRT responds rapidly to people who are having a crisis on City streets with a behavioral health approach that deescalates situations and addresses a person’s immediate needs for care, treatment, and shelter.
In this time, SCRT has responded to over 5,000 calls and engaged nearly 3,000 individuals in crisis. Each response team is made up of a paramedic, a clinician, and a peer provider. RAMS Division of Peer-Based Services provides the peer component of the project. We are incredibly proud of the great work the teams have done over the past year. To learn more, check out the Press Release from the Office of Mayor London Breed.
As a part of Giving Tuesday, RAMS has also released a short video about the Division of Peer-Based services and the impacts our peer programs have. Check out the video below and please share it with your friends and family! Support from donors like you allows RAMS to continue to provide and expand highly needed services like these. If you believe in our mission, you can support us during this giving season here.
Saying goodbye to Dr. Alla Volovich
It is with heavy hearts that RAMS must say goodbye to Dr. Alla Volovich, who abruptly passed away on July 8, 2021 while vacationing in Mexico. With her generosity, passion, and wit, she leaves behind a legacy of unwavering commitment to teaching and mentoring generations of professionals in the field of psychology. She led tirelessly and humbly by example, inspiring those under her wing to develop the kind of cultural, intellectual, and empathic sophistication and sensitivity that she modeled.
Dr. Volovich started at RAMS as a staff psychologist in 1994 and, in 2000, became the Director of Training for the RAMS Clinical Training Programs, which includes the National Asian American Psychology Training Center (NAAPTC), a nationally recognized, APA-accredited, and award-winning program. NAAPTC is among very few long-standing APA-accredited Doctoral Training Programs housed in a non-profit, community-based organization serving underserved populations. Over the past two decades under Dr. Volovich’s leadership, the Training Program continuously fostered the well-earned reputation for the profoundly meaningful and, for many, life-changing experience under the consistently attentive guidance of Dr. Volovich. Keenly perceptive, attuned, and thoughtful, she created the conditions necessary for interns and trainees to discover parts of themselves that would help shape their development. Over the years, Dr. Volovich worked tirelessly to work with each trainee and intern as unique individuals.
In keeping with NAAPTC’s history as the country’s first program to focus on developing expertise in working with Asian and Pacific Islander populations, Dr. Volovich utilized curricula that honed clinical skills with a psychodynamic and culturally competent approach, resulting in graduates of her program being able to serve clients through understanding with each individual’s unique history. Training Program graduates have integrated and carried what they learned from her to their work as clinicians, non-profit leaders, writers, policy makers, professors, leading consultants, and other contributors to the mental health field. Many graduates have also joined the RAMS family as committed clinicians, supervisors, and leaders while others returned as training facilitators. These lasting relationships attest to the welcoming and collaborative environment that Dr. Volovich so adroitly created.
As she was fiercely bright, enthusiastic, creative, and compassionate, Dr. Volovich’s passing is a tremendous loss to RAMS and the hundreds of lives she touched.
Many have asked how they can support Dr. Volovich’s family. The family has requested that donations be made to the RAMS clinical training program in Dr. Volovich’s name via this link. All donations made through this GoFundMe will be for the RAMS clinical training program.
Asian and Pacific American Mental Health Day 2021
In honor of Asian and Pacific American Mental Health Day, Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc. (RAMS) proudly presented Making Time: Wellness Practices across Asian American & Pacific Islander Communities, a free virtual event open to the public on May 10. From 9:30am – 4:00pm, guests engaged in panel discussions, a Bhangra dance workshop, Chinese integrative medicine, Zen-inspired meditative art, and Samoan dance.
In light of the pandemic and surge in anti-Asian violence, many in the API community may struggle to find peace and hope in their homes. With Making Time: Wellness Practices across Asian American & Pacific Islander Communities, RAMS shared tips to maintain mental wellness and assure attendees that there should be no shame or stigma around mental health. Although the event showcases wellness practices across different API cultures, all individuals of any background are welcome to attend.
About Mental Health Conditions
- Roughly one in five U.S. adults are impacted by at least one mental health condition according to the National Institute of Mental Health
- Nearly half of youth 13-18 years old are impacted by at least one mental health condition according to National Institute of Mental Health
- API adults have the lowest help-seeking rate with only 22% of API adults with a mental illness seeking services in 2019 according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
- According to the National Health Expenditure Accounts in 2020, total mental health costs are greater than any other health-related expense at $201 Billion. This far outpaces other leading expenses like those for heart conditions, trauma, and cancer.
- Untreated mental illness costs the nation $113 billion annually according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
About Asian and Pacific American Mental Health Day
May is established nationally as both Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness month. In 2010, RAMS spearheaded the effort to establish May 10 as the Asian Pacific American Mental Health Day in the State of California and the City and County of San Francisco. APA Mental Health Day has since been established in other cities like Austin, Texas. At the confluence of both Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness month, APA Mental Health Day recognizes the importance of raising awareness about mental health and promoting mental wellness in the Asian and Pacific Islander community.