I wish I could give Richmond area multi services 5 stars. Steven taka is great, and I feel like he has really helped me a lot. So I am biased, just like any one else. Araceli is wonderful too, and there are so many black and brown people (and other people that I haven’t met yet) who are younger than me me really doing amazing work to help their peers. Just a little bit unrelated, but there are men’s circles (like the one that might still be happening at “college of San Mateo,” I’m not sure) and the men’s circle at “mystic flora apothecary” and so many other places that are run by kind and caring people. However, I don’t feel like Peter hsu, program coordinator for “career connections” and other programs, is doing a good job. I would tell Peter this, directly, but I’m done. I don’t want to explain my struggles as a black person. 2 black people, who are younger than me, dropped out of the “career connections” program because they probably felt like Peter hsu did not understand their life experience. Steven taka has been very understanding, and so I really appreciate Steven’s kindness and understanding. If people were to have an issue with Steven, I would hope that they feel like they could talk to him or someone else before posting a Google review. But with Peter hsu, I feel like he is just prejudiced towards me, and I’m concerned that he is prejudiced towards other people. Richmond area multi services was created so that people of all ages could receive mental health support from someone who speaks their language and understands their culture. My mother is from Japan and it probably would have helped her years ago, if she had a chance to talk to someone like Steven taka who speaks Japanese and understands Japanese culture (even if he wasn’t born in Japan). Everyone deserves to be understood. People aren’t supposed to be put on trial in their everyday lives and judged by people who aren’t their peers. There are so many things that I could say, because I want people to receive mental health support - by any means necessary, as Malcolm x says - even if that means going through nonprofits (until people can have their own people run programs and don’t have to rely on nonprofits). I’m not gonna write any more in this Google review for now, but I definitely want to talk to Steven taka and other people at Richmond area multi services whom are understanding and compassionate. If only more people were like Steven taka and other understanding, kind people.
