Nancy Cahee is the director of the African American Family Cultural Center. (photo: Rachelle Parker)
South Oroville and Chico residents have been working for over a year on the opening of the African American Family Cultural Center (AAFCC) in South Oroville. AAFCC will provide mental health services, health screenings, arts and cultural programming, and other resources for South Oroville residents.
Though the AAFCC is not officially open, I was invited to do an introductory interview by Youth for Change (YFC), a nonprofit youth advocacy organization currently running the center.
George Siler, YFC's founder and executive director, says they came to operate the African American Family Cultural Center because of YFC's successful history of operating nonprofits in Butte County. He says the residents of Southside have shown strong interest shaping the organization that they helped to bring into existence.
"It is the intent, over time, to help the group form their own 501(c)3 and coach them to become independent," Siler says. A 501(c)3 is nonprofit status for an organization.
Youth for Change hired Nancy Cahee as the new director of the AAFCC. She graduated from Chico high school and has lived in the Oroville area for the last 20 years.
As we tour the facility, Cahee gives me an overview of the programs that will be run out of AAFCC. She says there is an ongoing Transformation and Healing Circle with drums led by a member of the behavioral health team. Cahee says AAFCC plans to work very closely with the Butte County Public Health Department "to offer health screenings for residents, as well as assessing specific services for the Southside."
The AAFCC, which is funded by the Butte County Department of Behavioral Health, is in the process of searching for a Drug, Alcohol, Mental Health (DAMH) Coordinator as well as an Arts and Leisure Coordinator.
"The DAMH Coordinator will look at existing prevention, treatment, and recovery resources to make those services more accessible and culturally appropriate for Southside residents," Cahee says. "The Arts and Leisure Coordinator will initiate a variety of African American activities and events geared toward the improvement of mental well-being. These may include art, dance, drumming, poetry, creative writing, etc."
When I interviewed Pastor Timothy Harrison about mental health issues in Southside in December 2010, he said that he believed low self-esteem and mental health issues occur prior to drug and alcohol problems. Cahee says she agrees.
"Considering the socio-economic standing in the Southside of Oroville where the AAFCC is located, mental health issues are definitely our focus," says Cahee. "And in many cases, yes, low self-esteem can be a prelude to the use of illegal substances."
Danny Walker & Shaneika Smith are volunteers at the African American Family Cultural Center. (photo: Rachelle Parker)
While I was there, I met two young people who were already involved with the AAFCC. Lee "Danny" Walker was there to learn leadership skills from some members of the behavioral health department.
"My six month goal is to reach out to other folks in the community and let them know what's going on here," Walker says.
I also met volunteer Shaneika Smith during my tour of AAFCC. A few months shy of receiving her Masters in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling at Chico State University, she says she recently completed an internship with Connecting Circles of Care, a group providing mental health services for under-served populations.
"My official internship ended in February," she smiles. "But I've decided to keep volunteering [at AAFCC] on my own time."
Cahee says AAFCC will be closely linked to the community.
"The community advisory team will work closely with the community, organizing and strategizing on how to best serve the Southside of Oroville," Cahee says. "For example, though our doors have not officially opened, we currently have an after-school tutor who is utilizing our facility to work with several children, and we are also currently collaborating with Children's Services [Butte County Child Protective Services] to facilitate supervised visits for children and their parents here at the center."
