The summary: I went to an all-day workshop for non-profit Boards hosted by Silicon Valley Creates and held at the beautiful Mexican Heritage Plaza, School of Arts & Culture, in San Jose. Lots of learning and some interesting interactions.
Then, in the evening, I attended a community meeting in the Palo Alto High School Haymarket Auditorium, to discuss how to support families in the “health, wellness, and well-being” of the Asian-American community. Inspired by the recent string of teen suicides (at least four per year since 2009) in each of the Palo Alto high schools, it featured a panel of experts ranging from psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, to the two most powerful voices on the panel – the mother of a boy who committed suicide in 2009, and a 35-year-old Asian-American man who has lived through his own multiple attempts at suicide to join the mental illness recovery movement as a youth leader and peer counselor. Filled to capacity, this was, in my view, a pivotal moment in evolution for the Asian-American community. I was deeply moved and inspired to action. MUCH more on this to come. My project for today is to write about this experience.
It’s all about seeing the BOX we have been in, and finding our own way out.
5050 Art 