What’s
Up
NEWSLETTER
Director’s Message Dear OC Health Care Agency (HCA) Team,
AUGUST 2022
Peer-to-Peer
Rebeka Sanchez “I absolutely love working for the Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP) and volunteering for the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Awareness campaigns (in
I sat down with Jaime Puerta and
May and September respectively). I take every opportunity to talk to anyone
Perla Mendoza from Stop the
who asks about the work that I do.” Spend any amount of time with Peer-to-
VOID (Victims of Illicit Drugs) for
Peer recipient Rebeka Sanchez, Health Program Specialist, OSP, and you'll see
a Your Health Matters OC talk
her passion for the work she does. “I explain that “whole health begins with
show about fentanyl, which you
mental health,” and stigma is our biggest barrier. So in our work, we normalize
can watch here. Their personal
as much as possible the conversations around mental illness/wellness in order
stories of losing a child to unin-
that more people feel comfortable sharing their experiences and seeking
tentional fentanyl poisoning are
help when they need it. Suicide prevention is not necessarily about convincing
heart breaking. What’s worse is
someone not to die, but it is giving them a reason for living--giving them hope.”
that their stories are not unique. While pharmaceutical fentanyl
Rebeka recognized her desire to
is approved for treating severe
bring hope to people's lives when
pain, the most recent cases of
she was a pre-med student plan-
fentanyl-related harm, overdose,
ning to go into cancer research.
and death in the US are linked
While earning undergrad degrees
to illegally made fentanyl sold
in Kinesiology and Health Science
through illegal drug markets,
at San Francisco State University,
including on social media plat-
and a Master’s in Public Health and
forms. It is often mixed with
Community Health, she became
heroin and/or cocaine as a
involved in several outreach
. . . continued on page 2
programs. In one program Rebeka worked with women and young girls to address violence, exploita-
FEATURED ARTICLES
tion and substance use; in another program she researched and made
The OC Navigator....................4
recommendations on policies for
Transgender Latinx Community Forum..................5
at-risk and homeless populations;
Ensuring Health Equity.........12
in another program she did street outreach for sexually transmitted . . . continued on page 3
