Supporting Mamas

06/30/2023

Dear friends: Supporting Mamas is closing and will no longer be offering maternal mental health support services, and this will be our last post.

This has been a very difficult decision for us to make and not one that we took lightly. We are so grateful for all your support over the past eight years as we grew and expanded our services to reach more women and families in the Bay Area. However, following the Covid pandemic, Supporting Mamas is no longer financially sustainable and the Board of Directors has voted to dissolve. We would like to say a heartfelt thank you and send our gratitude and appreciation to all those who have supported us in big and small ways. We will miss the work and the community we have created. While awareness of perinatal mental health is increasing, there is still so much more work to be done, and we are grateful to our partners who are continuing this work.

We are pleased to hand over the free Adjusting to Motherhood support group to Family Tree Wellness (www.familytreewellness.org), who will continue to nurture and support local women in need.

The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline (https://mchb.hrsa.gov/national-maternal-mental-health-hotline) is a welcome addition to support services for women, and anyone in need of help can now text or call 1-888-852-6262.

Postpartum Support International(www.postpartum.net) continues to be the beacon of light for mental health support, with free online support groups, peer mentor programs and much more.

If you or someone you know is facing a mental health emergency call or text 988 to the national free 988 (https://988lifeline.org) su***de and crisis text and phone service.

It has been our privilege to serve the families of Santa Clara County and beyond.

With love,
Cheryl & Allyson

11/09/2022

Join us tonight at 5:15pm PST for a screening of From The Ashes, followed by a conversation with filmmaker Theresa Fortune and Yvonne Maxwell, CEO of Ujima Adult & Family Services to discuss the racial disparities of access to mental healthcare for Black women. Registration is free: https://sccgov-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIod-yqpzwjHdKpOjmsJD5aK832tx8Ybo70

Join us on Wednesday, November 9th at 5:15-6:45PM PST for an evening centering Black Maternal Mental Health

A documentary screening and conversation on maternal mental health in the Black community, hosted by Deliver Birth Justice and Supporting Mamas with a keynote from Yvonne Maxwell, Executive Director of Ujima Adult & Family Services. Constructed with service providers in mind (but, open to all), we hope that this offering informs your practice and supports you in providing culturally-competent and equitable care.

Please click this link to register for this online event and feel free to share this event with your networks

https://sccgov-org.zoom.us/.../tJIod...

About the film:
From The Ashes is a multidisciplinary narrative of a Black woman’s desperate journey through postpartum depression and towards spiritual rebirth. Following the screening of From The Ashes, we are honored to host a fireside chat and Q&A session with mental health experts and advocates from our Bay Area community.
Black women (locally and nationally) are at highest risk compared to all other racial groups, to experience a range of negative birth outcomes including maternal and infant mortality. Black women are also disproportionately more likely to experience prenatal and postpartum depressive symptoms and less likely than other groups to receive adequate treatment. Systemic racism coupled with increasing levels of stress, trauma, food insecurity, interpersonal violence, and lack of access to prenatal care are all factors that contribute to the disparities.
By taking the film on tour with a panel of clinical professionals and maternal mental health advocates, the film makers hope to help the community navigate these crucial conversations, eliminate stigma and promote available resources. To donate to the film and continue to expand its reach, please visit: www.fromtheashes.media

10/26/2022

Supporting Mamas has been honored with one of the first Top-Rated Awards of 2022 from GreatNonprofits! We appreciate everyone who shared their story. See what people said about us here:

Volunteer, donate, read reviews for Supporting Mamas in San Jose, CA plus similar nonprofits and charities related to Mental Health, Mental Health & Crisis Intervention, Mental Health Disorders

10/25/2022

Join us on Wednesday, November 9th at 5:15-6:45PM PST for an evening centering Black Maternal Mental Health

A documentary screening and conversation on maternal mental health in the Black community, hosted by Deliver Birth Justice and Supporting Mamas with a keynote from Yvonne Maxwell, Executive Director of Ujima Adult & Family Services. Constructed with service providers in mind (but, open to all), we hope that this offering informs your practice and supports you in providing culturally-competent and equitable care.

Please click this link to register for this online event and feel free to share this event with your networks

https://sccgov-org.zoom.us/.../tJIod...

About the film:
From The Ashes is a multidisciplinary narrative of a Black woman’s desperate journey through postpartum depression and towards spiritual rebirth. Following the screening of From The Ashes, we are honored to host a fireside chat and Q&A session with mental health experts and advocates from our Bay Area community.
Black women (locally and nationally) are at highest risk compared to all other racial groups, to experience a range of negative birth outcomes including maternal and infant mortality. Black women are also disproportionately more likely to experience prenatal and postpartum depressive symptoms and less likely than other groups to receive adequate treatment. Systemic racism coupled with increasing levels of stress, trauma, food insecurity, interpersonal violence, and lack of access to prenatal care are all factors that contribute to the disparities.
By taking the film on tour with a panel of clinical professionals and maternal mental health advocates, the film makers hope to help the community navigate these crucial conversations, eliminate stigma and promote available resources. To donate to the film and continue to expand its reach, please visit: www.fromtheashes.media

10/18/2022

Sharing this beautiful offering on behalf of our friends at Roots Community Health Center as part of their Women of Wellness series. Hope you can join!

10/07/2022

Our Executive Director Cheryl Hart will be hosting today's Peer Panel Discussion at El Camino's 5th Annual Maternal Mental Health Symposium. This is an opportunity to hear from moms themselves as they describe how they overcame their mental health struggles to thrive in motherhood