Health Education Council (CA)
“For nearly 30 years, HEC has cultivated health and well-being in
under-served communities by leveraging the power of collaboration. For over a decade, HEC has administered
health programs at the Mexican Consulate in Sacramento including Ventanilla de Salud (VDS) which provides
free health-related services for immigrant and Latino clients.
A key program of VDS is Mente Sana, Vida Sana (Healthy Mind, Healthy Life) which reduces unmet mental
health needs in the Mexican immigrant community through PHQ9 depression screenings, referral and stigma
reduction. In the fall of 2017, HEC received funding from the Office of Health Equity to offer a community defined mental health initiative called the Mente Sana, Vida Sana (MSVS) program. MSVS addresses
awareness, early detection, and treatment of depression to improve individual and community well-being. “