R.K. Janmeja "Meji" Singh, PhD

R.K. Janmeja (Meji) Singh, PhD

Meji received a Lifetime Achievement award from California State Psychological Association. The Surgeon General of the United States Army recognized him for his Consultation Services to the Letterman Army Medical Center Department of Psychiatry (1973-91), Presidio San Francisco. Oxford Symposium awarded him an award for Outstanding Contribution to School Based Family Counseling. The United States Congress recognized him for his fifty years Community Service as a Clinical Psychologist. He received his Ph.D. degree in Clinical Psychology from Boston University in 1965. He took a year of seminars with Gerald Caplan, M.D., Professor at Harvard School of Public Health in Community Mental Health Consultation and Prevention of Mental Disorders. He was a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Center for Training in Community Psychiatry and Mental Health Administration (1964-66) where he subsequently served as the Assistant Director of the Center (19966-1980). He was an Adjunct Professor of Psychology for the Doctoral Program in School Psychology at U.C. Berkeley (1991-2007). He was the Founding President of the Hume Center (1993-2001). He was the Dean of Rosebridge Graduate School of Integrative Psychology (1986-1996). He was the Deputy Commissioner for Preventive Services at Genesee county Community Mental Health Services, Flint, Michigan (1966-68). He has developed award winning community mental health programs. He has worked for State Hospitals for the Mentally Ill for three years and over fifty years in community Mental Health Programs. He has provided consultation to Mental Health, Academic, Human Service Organizations and Business corporations across the United States. Currently he is the Chief Training Consultant at the Community Behavioral Health Training Center, Concord, California.

Quotes from Our Founder, Meji Singh, PhD

#MugQuotes

As a symbol of graduation, each trainee who graduates receives a limited edition Hume Center Mug with a quote from our founder Meji Singh, PhD on it. The quote changes each year.

2010-2011: Healing is not what we do to them. It is how we change our own reaction and feelings in relationship to them.

2011-2012: The clients create their own reality in relationship to the psychotherapists. It is the psychotherapist’s response that is different from the client’s expectations that brings about change.

2012-2013: Notice and explore.

2013-2014: Through psychotherapy, if we understand the suffering our clients have experienced and the way they have coped which may have resulted in symptoms and labels, then through that process they can learn her ways to be more satisfied and productive.

2014-2015: No implementation without participation.

2015-2016: You must anchor yourself. You cannot unload a ship in a storm.

2016-2017: How can you get someone to a place when you aren’t listening to where they want to go?

2017-2018: If we recognize our interconnectedness, we will find peace.

2018-2019: Gala Water Glass -
"The healing process takes place in the context of a relationship." ~Meji Singh, PhD, Founding President
“It takes a community to heal a community.” ~Joty Sikand, PsyD, President

2019-2020: If you only treat symptoms, you're just chasing shadows.

Pooja Rupani, PsyD

Dr. Pooja Rupani graduated as a Counseling Psychologist from the Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland. Post licensure in the UK, Dr Rupani worked as Psychologist in a Primary Care mental health team, Improving Access to Psychological Services (IAPT) in London, UK for three years. Her role at IAPT involved conducting diagnostic and psychological assessments, and planning and delivering treatments to people with Depressive, Anxiety, and Eating Disorders, and she also completed the certification training for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Dr. Rupani was promoted to the Senior Management Team as the Step 3 Lead, managing and supervising a team of licensed psychologists, CBT therapists, Dynamic Interpersonal Therapists, Couples Therapists, and trainee CBT therapists. She also supervised a team of Assistant Psychologists responsible for community outreach and engagement, with the aim of increasing awareness of mental health services available to the community. 

After relocating to the United States, Dr Rupani joined the Hume Center in 2016 as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the School Based Program in Pleasanton. She subsequently transferred to the Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) in Concord, where she has been providing group, individual and family psychotherapy to adults with severe mental health difficulties. She has been licensed as a Psychologist in California since 2018 and upon licensure was promoted as the Program Manager for PHP. Her role as Program Manager has included providing group and individual supervision, training and orientation, and practising Mental Health Consultation. Alongside her clinical work, Dr Rupani has also functioned as the Clinic Manager of the Concord clinic, where she has been working to streamline the intake process across the different programs in Contra Costa County to ensure quick access to appropriate services for clients, and more recently the merger of outpatient Medicare and MediCal services at the Concord Clinic.

Criminal Justice Reform for Individuals Diagnosed with Behavioral Health Needs

Urban Institute has recently release this summary of the efforts other states are making to reform criminal justice practices, especially in regard to people with behavioral health needs. Click here to download the report in PDF.

Summer Breeze Concert for Community Wellness attracted 200+ viewers!

May 29, 2020

On May 29, 2020, ten performers performed for over 200 people on the Zoom stage in the Summer Breeze Concert for Community Wellness! Please help us thank David Serotkin, Clarisse Saam, Patrick Duffy, Roberto Roman, Bryan Munar, John Hazen and Daniel Harris of Across Party Lines, Lacey Rae, KC Dela Cruz, and Natalie Amaya for the tremendous concert they put on that got summer kicked off right and helped everyone feel a little lighter.

You can watch the concert as it was streamed to Facebook Live by clicking here.

 Click here for the full list of Zoom events we put on in April, May, and June, 2020.

Did you miss our workshop on how to cope with strong feelings due to COVID-19? Click here to download the powerpoint slides for the presentation as a PDF. Feel free to distribute to whoever you'd like.

Hume Phoenix Center has Moved into Hume's Concord Clinic

You're Invited to the Mind Matters event!

Healthy Mind, Healthy You!

Join the India Community Center (ICC) Wellness event taking place on
February 24, 2019 from 9am - 4pm.
Learn more about how emotions can impact your health while being amongst engaging keynotes and panels. Healthy breakfast & lunch included!

Click here for more information! 

Hume Alumni Have Launched a Platform to Connect Mental Health Experts to Communities

Former Hume Center pre-doctoral intern, Michele Haley, PhD, (’10) and practicum intern, post-doc and staff , Aric Jensen, PhD and MBA ('10) have launched a non-profit organization aimed at making sure mental health support is a right and not a privilege.  TogetherWell (www.togetherwell.org) is a 501c3 organization that helps link mental health experts with communities in need by providing timely, tailored and impactful mental health workshops and educational opportunities. Specifically, TogetherWell provides a web-based platform for mental health professionals to share their backgrounds, and workshop offerings while providing visibility to and connections with organizations and communities that are in need of that expertise.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, TogetherWell has been hosting FREE, monthly webinars for mental health professionals to provide connections and enrich clinical practice during this unprecedented time. We invite the Hume Center community to attend one of their upcoming “Third Thursdays for Therapists”. The next offering is one June 18^th, 5-7 pm PST. To learn more about this complimentary event, please visit: https://www.togetherwell.org/events-calendar

Hume Receives Innovation Award with County and State Recognition

November 5, 2019

Bertha Lopez, the Program Coordinator of Hume's Housing Support Services Program, accepted the award for Best Innovative Program from the Contra Costa Council on Homelessness at the County Board of Supervisors Meeting on behalf of The Hume Center. Bertha, and her Rapid Resolution Specialist Samantha Quinn, have developed this new program over the last year in close collaboration with Contra Costa's Health, Housing, and Homeless (H3) Division.

This award also garnered recognition in the State Legislature by Assemblymember Jim Frazier, Assemblymember Timoothy Grayson, and Senator Bill Dodd.

Rapid Resolution is a distinct tool created within the partnership of Coordinated Entry and the Continuum of Care of housing services in Contra Costa. It serves individuals who are acutely about to be homeless and provides short-term, intense case management, mediation, consultation, assistance, and linkage to help someone avoid becoming homeless and living in a shelter. Consumers are linked to the program by those working in Coordinated Entry services via screening and referral. In other words, clients are referred to this program after accessing other services in the housing Continuum of Care. The program is growing and will soon be serving individuals through other referral sources as well.

This program works tirelessly to help mediate conflicts with landlords, resolve issues among family members and roommates, connect consumers to community resources and assistance, navigate challenging situations and relationships, and/or rapidly find alternative housing. So far, the program has diverted 50% of those individuals referred to it from accessing the shelters.

The Hume Center appreciates the great work by Bertha and Samantha to create and grow the program. In addition, Hume Center appreciates the true partnership with H3 and the other agencies we've partnered with to make this program a success. We know that Rapid Resolution hit the ground running in Contra Costa because of the hard work already done by H3 and the partners in the Continuum of Care to lay a strong foundation of coordinated services between county and partner agencies and services. Without a working system to receive referrals from and then to rapidly connect consumers to, Rapid Resolution programs cannot be successful. This is an innovation born out of inter-agency collaboration, a system willing to experiment with techniques working elsewhere, and a consultative approach to conflict resolution and problem solving.

 

 

 

Ways to Cope with Strong Feelings Related to COVID-19

Ways to Cope with Strong Feelings Related to COVID-19

Distress, Anxiety, Fear, and Strong Emotion are normal in times of distress or crisis--but how do you cope? This question was asked and answered at our interactive community workshop over Zoom on April 9, 2020! This workshiop was hosted by the Putnam Clubhouse and facilitated by Hume's Director of Clinical Programs Chris Celio.

We were especially luck that two professional singers, Natalie Amaya (www.natalieamayavoice.com) and Alicia Glenn (www.facebook.com/AliciaGlennMusic), kicked off the event with a community concert! After the concert, Chris walked us through the reasons why the current situation has been so hard and specific tips to help cope through it. The event demonstrated the healing power of music and community, as everyone was left smiling, singing, and with helpful tips to cope after the workshop.

The concert also kicked off a series of lunchtime events during April to bring the larger mental health community together. Click on this link to access the schedule of events: Stay Connected through these Fun Events for All on Zoom in April! 

Click here to download the powerpoint slides for the presentation as a PDF. Feel free to distribute to whoever you'd like.

Hume's Last Lunchtime Event had a World-Wide Audience!

June 4, 2020 with Shahrzad Dance Company

The 2020 Lunchtime Self-Care Event Series ended on 6/4/2020 with a beautiful dance performance by Shahrzad Dance Company (SDC) that was watched by people from all over the world, including the United States, Iran, and elsewhere. Shahrzad Dance Company is a dance ensemble based in Berkeley, and hosts a group of dancers and choreographers dedicated to exploring the depth of classical and contemporary Persian dance. The company has the mission of promoting the art of Persian dance, while bridging cultural gaps, helping Iranian-Americans establish their culture within the greater community. The company did four solo dances and the presented a video montage showing the four of them dancing together while being apart in different locations. It was a masterful and inspiring dance performance!

Directed by Shahrzad Khorsandi, author of The Art of Persian Dance, SDC performs at various events locally and nationwide. The company can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/shahrzaddancecompany and information about classes and performances is on their website at: www.shahrzaddance.com

We hope you have enjoyed these weekly diversions. We hope you continue to find ways to stay connected and stay healty.

Click here for the full list of Zoom events Hume organized over Zoom in April, May, and June.

Did you miss our workshop on how to cope with strong feelings due to COVID-19? Click here to download the powerpoint slides for the presentation as a PDF. Feel free to distribute to whoever you'd like.

Hume Center invites you to Celebrate Juneteenth, 2020 with Us....Twice!

Hume Center has planned two separate Juneteenth events today, 6/19/2020. Please join us as we facilitate two different creative celebrations in celebrations of the day.

From 12:30 to 1pm, we will be elevating classical music written by Black composers as curated on-demand by Garrett McQueen from MPR.

Join us through Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/92291657972 or dial (669) 900-9128 and entering Meeting ID 922 9165 7972 # 

At 5pm, we bring to you a jazz dance class called Honoring Juneteenth! Alexander Zapata from Escuela de Danza Petipa will be teaching a dance class in honor of the day live from Columbia over Zoom.

Please join us on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9138180977?pwd=MjJEeUN6OVhxSXZNeXRST1JDNVkwdz09 and use the password escuela

If joining directly from Zoom, use Meeting ID 913 818 0977 and use the password escuela

Lunchtime Zoom Concert on 5/14/2020

Click here for the full list of Zoom events in May and June.

May 14, 2020, 12:30 to 1pm, Lacey Rae

Thank you Lacey Rae for performing for the community live from Hollywood! You've seen her in Sorority Boys, Bad Santa, Sideways, and other films, and now we got to hear her great singing on Zoom! Keep up with her by clicking here! Followers of hers on Facdebook and YouTube are getting treated to a daily performance from Lacey! Want more to hear more from Lacey? Join us at the Summer Breeze Concert on May 29th!

May 29, 2020, 5:30 to 7:30pm: Summer Breeze Concert for Community Wellness

Feeling sad you only get to see Lacey Rae sing once? Well, most of your favorite singers from the Lunchtime Concert series, including Lacey, are returning on May 29 from 5:30 to 7:30pm for the Summer Breeze Concert for Community Wellness! Please join us on Zoom as David Serotkin, Clarisse Saam, Patrick Duffy, Roberto Roman, Bryan Munar, John Hazen, Lacey Rae, KC Dela Cruz, and Natalie Amaya return to get summer started off right! 

Please click this link on 5/29 at 5:30pm to watch the Summer Breeze Concert: https://zoom.us/j/97103090885

To join by phone, dial 669 900 9128 and enter the Webinar ID: 971 0309 0885 #

 Click here for the full list of Zoom events in May and June.

Did you miss our workshop on how to cope with strong feelings due to COVID-19? Click here to download the powerpoint slides for the presentation as a PDF. Feel free to distribute to whoever you'd like.

Lunchtime Comedy with Hollywood's Lenny Schmidt on 5/28/2020

Click here for the full list of Zoom events in May and June.

May 28, 2020, 12:30 to 1pm: Lunchtime Comedy!

 Click here for the full list of Zoom events we did in April, May, and June, 2020 during the Stay at Home Order for Community Wellness.

Did you miss our workshop on how to cope with strong feelings due to COVID-19? Click here to download the powerpoint slides for the presentation as a PDF. Feel free to distribute to whoever you'd like.

Journeys of Hope Staff Ticket Website

This is the staff and alumni page to purchase tickets at the Staff Rate for the Hume Center's Journeys of Hope on 11/3/18. The staff ticket rate is only for employees and trainees and up to two guests for $75 each ticket. The alumni ticket rate is only for alumni and their significant others/partners/spouses.

More information can be found at gala.humecenter.org

Gala Tickets

1 VIP Ticket $300.00 USD1 Table of 8 Standard Tickets $1,100.00 USD1 Standard Ticket $150.00 USD1 Table of 8 Alumni $990.00 USD1 Alumni Ticket $135.00 USD1 Staff Ticket (only for current staff and up to 2 guests) $75.00 USD

Enter Names of Attendees

Chicken, Salmon, or Vegetarian

Lunchtime Zoom Concert on 5/21/2020

Click here for the full list of Zoom events in May and June.

May 21, 2020 with Bryan Munar

Professional theatre performer Bryan Munar, who has performed in world premier and regional premier theatrical productions and been nominated for a SFBATCC Best Featured Actor in a Musical, showed off his amazing voice and guitar skills as he performed live on Zoom to help keep our spirits up! Want more to hear more from Bryan? Follow him on Instagram and join us at the Summer Breeze Concert on May 29th!

May 29, 2020, 5:30 to 7:30pm: Summer Breeze Concert for Community Wellness

Feeling sad you only get to see Bryan Munar sing once? Well, most of your favorite singers from the Lunchtime Concert series, including Bryan, are returning on May 29 from 5:30 to 7:30pm for the Summer Breeze Concert for Community Wellness! Please join us on Zoom as David Serotkin, Clarisse Saam, Patrick Duffy, Roberto Roman, Bryan Munar, John Hazen, Lacey Rae, KC Dela Cruz, and Natalie Amaya return to get summer started off right! 

Please click this link on 5/29 at 5:30pm to watch the Summer Breeze Concert: https://zoom.us/j/97103090885

To join by phone, dial 669 900 9128 and enter the Webinar ID: 971 0309 0885 #

 Click here for the full list of Zoom events in May and June.

Did you miss our workshop on how to cope with strong feelings due to COVID-19? Click here to download the powerpoint slides for the presentation as a PDF. Feel free to distribute to whoever you'd like.

Christopher J. Celio, PsyD

Dr. Celio is a Director of Clinical Programs at The Hume Center, with oversight over Hume's three Contra Costa clinics in Pittsburg, Concord, and Richmond. Dr. Celio, who started working in the mental health field in 2001 and originally trained to be a Child Psychologist, found his calling when he joined The Hume Center as a Pre-Doctoral Intern in 2007. While this shifted his focus to serving adults diagnosed with serious mental illness, he brought with him an emphasis on the family and other systems that the consumer is a part of and a creative spirit that believes that healing and recovery can come through many surprising and outside-of-the-box pathways, beliefs, and persons.

Upon licensure in 2010, Dr. Celio was hired as a staff psychologist in Hume's Contra Costa Outpatient Services and Partial Hospitalization Program programs and also provided supervision in the School Based Program. He has served as the Development Coordinator for Hume Center since 2011. In 2014, he partnered with Dr. Gilbert Weisman to create and implement the Community Support Program in East Contra Costa, Hume Center's first Full Service Partnership Program.

Dr. Celio also helped expand Contra Costa Outpatient Services to Prevention and Early Intervention by partnering with People Who Care to offer the clinical prevention, early intervention, and psychotherapy services within their groundbreaking afterschool program for high-risk youth in Pittsburg.

After experiencing the positive impact of bringing in speakers from NAMI  In Our Own Words, WREACH Speakers Bureau, Putnam Clubhouse, Rainbow Community Center, and RI International, he helped create Mental Wellness Night with the Sharks, where consumer and family member art was displayed at a San Jose Sharks game to help the fans experience what Mental Health Stigma and Mental Wellness look like artistically. From there, he joined the Community Living Room Conversation (CLRC) task force of the Behavioral Healthcare Partnership and helped produce four CLRC events, all of which included consumers, family members, and providers as equal voices around the table. Dr. Celio is proud to be part of the coalition of agencies that helped start the annual Hope Cup Softball Tournament and Annual Bowling Tournament, where consumers, family members, and providers involved at over eight agencies compete together to restore hope, reduce stigma, and show that we're all in this together.

He has been teaching at Contra Costa Behavioral Health's Office for Consumer Empowerment's SPIRIT Program since 2011 and has been recently teaching at SPIRIT and various other agencies and community forums on the topics of Communication Skills, Clinical Boundaries, Personal Boundaries, Self-Care/Burnout Prevention for Providers, Self-Care for Family Members, Making Friends and Getting Ready for Romance, Clinical Strategies and Ethical Guidelines for Telehealth, and Ways to Cope with Strong Feelings due to During COVID-19. He co-facilitated CCBHD's System of Care Meeting from 2014-2016 and creaeted a series of weekly Lunchtime Self-Care events in 2020 to help the mental health community cope through the Stay at Home Order. Dr. Celio is certified in Telebehavioral Health and is a certified instructor in CPI's Verbal Non-Violent Crisis Pevention.

Dr. Celio was proud to be awarded the Hope Award by the SPIRIT Classes of 2017 and 2018, the Community Partnership Award by the Putnam Clubhouse in 2018, and the Committed Clinician Award by NAMI Contra Costa in 2019. He was honored to be chosen by Contra Costa Behavioral Health to moderate their first "Bust Stigma" event at Brenden Theatre for Recovery Month 2019. He would like to remind everyone that "Hope has been proven to be contagious, so pass it on!"

Stay Connected through these Fun Events for All on Zoom in April, May, and June!

UPDATE: In the months of April, May, and June, 2020, Hume hosted weekly events to help the community feel less isolated and more connected to humanity. Human connection is one of the most powerful forces in the universe and we wanted everyone to have events to look forward to. We have a tremendous amount of gratitude for all of the amazing singers, improvisers, comedians, and dancers who performed on Zoom for community wellness!

Are you like most people in the world, getting a little exhausted of all the changes and distancing and new technological challenges and lack of interpersonal contact? Does at least another month of the stay-at-home order sound like it will feel like a year? Are you finding it challenging to be away from the supportive communities that support you through tough times? Well, you're not alone, and we want you to know it.

4/9/2020 @ 12:30 - 1:00pm: Lunchtime Concert with Natalie Amaya and Alicia Glenn

4/9/2020 @ 1:00 - 2:30pm: Ways to Cope with Strong Feelings Related to COVID-19

4/16/2020 @ 12:30 - 1:00pm: Lunchtime Karate with Sensei Geoff Mires

4/23/2020 @ 12:30 - 1:00pm: Lunchtime Concert with Clarisse Saam

4/30/2020 @ 12:30 - 1:00pm: Lunctime Improv with "Objects of Desire" from Leela Improv

5/5/2020 @ 12:30 - 1:00pm: Lunchtime Concert with Roberto Roman

5/7/2020 @ 12:30 - 1:00pm: Lunchtime Concert with KC Dela Cruz

5/14/2020 @ 12:30 - 1:00pm Lunctime Concert with Lacey Rae

5/21/2020 @ 12:30 -1:00pm Lunchtime Concert with Bryan Munar

5/28/2020 @ 12:30 to 1:00pm: Lunchtime Comedy with Lenny Schmidt

5/29/2020 @ 5:30 to 7:30pm: Summer Breeze Concert

6/4/2020 @ 12:30 to 1:00pm: Lunchtime Dance with Shahrzad Dance Company

April 9, 2020, 12:30pm to 2:30pm: Ways to Cope with Strong Feelings Related to COVID-19, by Chris Celio, PsyD

Distress, Anxiety, Fear, and Strong Emotion are normal in times of distress or crisis--but how do you cope? This question was asked and answered at our interactive community workshop over Zoom on April 9, 2020! This workshiop was hosted by the Putnam Clubhouse and facilitated by Hume's Director of Clinical Programs Chris Celio.

We were especially luck that two professional singers, Natalie Amaya (www.natalieamayavoice.com) and Alicia Glenn (www.facebook.com/AliciaGlennMusic), kicked off the event with a community concert! After the concert, Chris walked us through the reasons why the current situation has been so hard and specific tips to help cope through it. The event demonstrated the healing power of music and community, as everyone was left smiling, singing, and with helpful tips to cope after the workshop. You can download the powerpoint at the bottom of this article: Ways to Cope with Strong Feelings Related to COVID-19. Natalie Amaya also performed in the Summer Breeze Concert for Community Wellness!

April 16, 2020, 12:30 to 1:00 pm: Lunchtime Karate!

To keep the fun rolling along and blood bumping, we invited Sensei Geoff Mires, a 3rd Degree Blackbelt in Shorin Ryu Karate from Mires Martial Arts in Concord (www.miresmartialarts.com), to facilitate a lighthearted beginners karate workshop* to get everyone moving and laughing while we cope through this Stay Home order together. This public event focused on getting everyone moving the best they can, laughing, and having fun with light karate warm-ups and beginners karate and kick boxing moves! Everyone who participated had a great time and learned some fun karate moves! We especially apprecaited Sensei's preparation with the COVID-19-themed karate moves to lighten the mood!

April 23, 2020, 12:30 to 1:00pm: Lunchtime Concert!

We enjoyed the beautiful singing of Clarisse Saam, a local legend in theatre and song. She brought to life songs from the theatre and radio! Thank you Clarisse for helping us all join together at lunchtime and feel a little lighter through the power of music and community! Keep up with her performances at Facebook.com/ClarisseNicholeSings and follow her on Instagram at @ClarisseSings4u! Clarisse also performed in the Summer Breeze Concert!

April 30, 2020, 12:30 to 1:00pm: Lunchtime Improv!

The talented improvisers of Objects of Desire of San Francisco's Leela Improv will be performed hilarious long-form improv for the community! We'd like to thank Jill Eickmann, Diana Brown, Andel Sudik, and Sidonie Starr for givng their time to bring laughter to our community!

May 5, 2020, 12:30 to 1:00pm: Lunchtime Concert!

We are so grateful to Roberto Roman, one of the mental health community's own legends, for inspiring us on May 5, 2020 with his wonderful singing. You've heard him perform at Contra Costa's Annual Hope and Empowerment Softball Tournament, at SPIRIT graduation, and other events and now he participated in our Lunchtime Concert series to lift up the mood of the mental health community and public during this Stay Home Order over Zoom. Roberto also performed in the Summer Breeze Concert!

May 7, 2020, 12:30 to 1pm: Lunchtime Concert!

Thank you KC Dela Cruz, an amazingly talented professional theatre performer and former Hume Center employee, for your concert on May 7th singing some beautiful pop, power ballads, and Disney/theatre songs! She uplifted everyone's lunchtime and helped the community feel a little lighter through the power of music! Keep up with her on Instagram at @kcdelacruzz. Click here to read more about her career. KC also performed in the Summer Breeze Concert!

May 14, 2020, 12:30 to 1pm: Lunchtime Concert!

Thank you Lacey Rae for performing for the community live from Hollywood! You've seen her in Sorority Boys, Bad Santa, Sideways, and other films, and now we got to hear her great singing on Zoom! Keep up with her by clicking here! Followers of hers on Facdebook and YouTube are getting treated to a daily performance from Lacey! Lacey also performed in the Summer Breeze Concert!

May 21, 2020, 12:30 to 1pm: Lunchtime Concert!

Professional theatre performer Bryan Munar, who has performed in world premier and regional premier theatrical productions and been nominated for a SFBATCC Best Featured Actor in a Musical, showed off his amazing voice and guitar skills as he performed live on Zoom to help keep our spirits up! Follow him on Instagram. Bryan also performed in the Summer Breeze Concert!

May 28, 2020, 12:30 to 1pm: Lunchtime Comedy!

May 29, 2020, 5:30 to 7:30pm: Summer Breeze Concert

On May 29, 2020, ten performers performed for over 200 people on the Zoom stage in the Summer Breeze Concert for Community Wellness! Please help us thank David Serotkin, Clarisse Saam, Patrick Duffy, Roberto Roman, Bryan Munar, John Hazen and Daniel Harris of Across Party Lines, Lacey Rae, KC Dela Cruz, and Natalie Amaya for the tremendous concert they put on that got summer kicked off right and helped everyone feel a little lighter.

You can watch the concert as it was streamed to Facebook Live by clicking here.

 

June 4, 2020, 12:30 to 1pm: Lunchtime Dance!

The 2020 Lunchtime Self-Care Event Series ended on 6/4/2020 with a beautiful dance performance by Shahrzad Dance Company (SDC). Shahrzad Dance Company is a dance ensemble based in Berkeley, and hosts a group of dancers and choreographers dedicated to exploring the depth of classical and contemporary Persian dance. The company has the mission of promoting the art of Persian dance, while bridging cultural gaps, helping Iranian-Americans establish their culture within the greater community. The company did four solo dances and the presented a video montage showing the four of them dancing together while being apart in different locations. It was a masterful and inspiring dance performance!

Directed by Shahrzad Khorsandi, author of The Art of Persian Dance, SDC performs at various events locally and nationwide. The company can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/shahrzaddancecompany and information about classes and performances is on their website at: www.shahrzaddance.com

Many Thanks to These Performers for the Private Events they did for Hume Center Staff in April!

Hume Center would like to thank Piano Bar Performer Patrick Duffy, who entertained Hume Center staff in a private show on April 14, 2020. We were all thrilled that he provided uplifting support and entertainment to our wonderful staff so that they can be at their best in supporting the community during these tough times. Find him online at www.patrickduffymusic.com/about and Facebook. Patrick also performed in the Summer Breeze Concert!

We would also like to thank musician John Hazen of Across Party Lines and singer and local legend Roberto Roman who utilized their unqiue talents in a private concert for Hume Center staff on April 21, 2020. John and his APL Bandmate Daneil Harris and Roberto Roman also performed in the Summer Breeze Concert!

Many thanks for the wonderful priivate lunchtime concert bo professional singer/songwriter David Serotkin for The Hume Center's staff on April 28, 2020!  Thank you all for sharing your tremendous gifts with our staff, it couldn't come at a better time. David Serotkin's music is available on Apple Music and iTunes. David also performed in the Summer Breeze Concert!

*Participate in Lunchtime Karate at your own risk. Karate is a physical activity that includes natural physical risks to those participating. Mires Martial Arts, Hume Center, and Sensei Geoff take no liability for everyone’s health, injuries, or ability to complete the light warm ups and karate drills without injury. Participating the karate does not constitute being a member of Mires Martial Arts and, due to the large audience and virtual nature of the class, Geoff Mires will not be able to monitor everyone's participation to make sure they are performing the moves correctly and in a safe manner in the same manner he is able to do with enrolled students at his dojo.

**The Zoom events described on this page are public events. No protection of privacy should be assumed.

Lunchtime Zoom Concert on 4/23/2020

Join us for the next community event on Zoom to promote wellness through song!

Please join us on April 23, 2020 from 12:30 to 1:00pm for a half-hour performance of some of the best theatrical and popular songs!

We are excited to enthrall you with the beautiful singing of Clarisse Saam, a local legend in theatre and song. She will bring to life songs from the theatre and radio! Join virtually with others during lunchtime and feel a little lighter through the power of music and community! Catch up with her performances at Facebook.com/ClarisseNicholeSings and follow her on Instagram at @ClarisseSings4u!

To access this event on Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 12:30pm, click this Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/777885299

Click here for the full list of Zoom events in April and May.

Did you miss our workshop on how to cope with strong feelings due to COVID-19? Click here to download the powerpoint slides for the presentation as a PDF. Feel free to distribute to whoever you'd like.

Lunchtime Zoom Concerts on 5/5/2020 and 5/7/2020

Thank you to our Lunchtime performers from the week of May 4th, 2020: Roberto Roman and KC Dela Cruz! 

We are so grateful to Roberto Roman, one of the mental health community's own legends, for inspiring us on May 5, 2020 with his wonderful singing. You've heard him perform at Contra Costa's Annual Hope and Empowerment Softball Tournament, at SPIRIT graduation, and other events and now he participated in our Lunchtime Concert series to lift up the mood of the mental health community and public during this Stay Home Order over Zoom.

Thank you KC Dela Cruz, an amazingly talented professional theatre performer and former Hume Center employee, for your concert on May 7th singing some beautiful pop, power ballads, and Disney/theatre songs! She uplifted everyone's lunchtime and helped the community feel a little lighter through the power of music! Keep up with her on Instagram at @kcdelacruzz.

BIO: KC Dela Cruz is a Bay Area actor, singer, and performer. Prior to pursuing her acting career full time, KC worked as a Clinic Operations Assistant at The Hume Center’s Pleasanton office. She is delighted to be back sharing her talents with everyone! Recent credits include: Kiss My Aztec! (Ensemble) with Berkeley Repertory/La Jolla Playhouse; The Prince of Egypt (Keturah) with TheatreWorks; In the Heights (Nina) with Woodminster Theatre; Smokey Joe’s Café (DeLee) with Tri-Valley Repertory Theatre, The Little Mermaid (Ariel) with Tri-Valley Repertory Theatre; West Side Story (Maria) with City Lights Theatre; Les Miserables (Eponine) with Tri-Valley Repertory Theatre; and Miss Saigon (Kim) with Palo Alto Players. Outside of performing, KC loves to pet alpacas, watch Netflix, and dine at various KBBQ and Ramen joints. She has been performing since she was 5 years old and hopes to take her talents to the Big Apple where she wants to further her theatre career.

Click here for the full list of Zoom events in May and June.

Did you miss our workshop on how to cope with strong feelings due to COVID-19? Click here to download the powerpoint slides for the presentation as a PDF. Feel free to distribute to whoever you'd like.