News

For Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who find themselves the targets of racist incidents or hate crimes, peace remains elusive. For victims of such acts — as well as those who advocate for their communities through activism or nonprofit work, and those who fear for their own safety and that of their loved ones — the latest wave of hate crimes targeting Asian American Pacific Islander community members has taken a severe mental toll.

Long before Asian American residents found themselves blamed for the coronavirus pandemic or the March 16 Atlanta spa shootings that killed eight people, including six Asian women, many in the Asian American Pacific Islander community were living in constant stress and fear, according to activists and community members. Perceived as the “model minority,” they are hyper-sexualized and viewed as perpetual foreigners, and taught to stay silent. Stigma, traditional values and cultural pressures, meanwhile, prevent many in the Asian American Pacific Islander community from making their mental health a priority.

Serious mental illness rose from 2.9% to 5.6% in Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders ages 18-25 between 2008 and 2018, according to a 2018 national survey on drug use and health by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Repetitive historical events — paired with the stress of immigration and assimilation, language barriers, cultural isolation, economic struggles, and lack of access to health care — all are “psycho-social stressors” experienced in Asian communities, Dr. Sheila Wu said. These events can exacerbate both physical and mental problems prompted by racist behaviors and hate attacks and lead to “more serious depressive, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorders” across generations, she added.

Read more at PE.com.

In countries across the globe, some immigrants are twice as likely to contract COVID-19 compared to those born in the country. Throughout the pandemic, immigrants have been disproportionately impacted due to poor housing conditions, jobs that make physical distancing difficult, and lack of access to affordable health care. While experts say multiple measures need to be taken to help immigrant communities receive adequate health care, a study conducted by researchers at Anglia Ruskin University indicates that mobile applications aided by artificial intelligence (AI) may help migrants better address their physical and mental health.

Incorporating AI into health apps “might improve the quality and accuracy of health services and create a better match between immigrants’ needs and the services provided, leading to greater valuable informational capabilities and outcomes,” the study’s author Nick Drydakis, PhD, director of the Centre for Pluralist Economics at Anglia Ruskin University in England, tells Verywell.

“Asylum seekers and refugees, in particular, frequently experience torture or other forms of persecution by their home government,” Dabney P. Evans, PhD, MPH says. She stresses that healthcare providers should keep this in mind when treating patients because the consequent health effects can include “physical injury, but they can also include mental effects which are long-lasting things like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression.”

“Individuals who do not have access to health care and perceive themselves as having a stigmatizing condition are more likely to use health applications for self-diagnosis,” Drydakis says. “Mental health applications reach population groups who might otherwise not have access to mental health or other clinical care.”

Read more at VeryWellHealth.com.

More LGBTQ+ people reported experiencing job loss and worsening mental health due to the pandemic compared with people who do not identify as LGBTQ+, an analysis published last week by the Kaiser Family Foundation found. The pandemic’s negative impact on mental health has been widely discussed by public health experts, but there has been a lack of data specific to how it has affected the LGBTQ+ community, said Lindsey Dawson, coauthor of the analysis and the associate director of HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

“LGBTQ+ people have a history of stigma and discrimination,” Dawson said. “They have higher rates of mental illness and lack of access to health care, which is why it’s important to understand the impact of COVID on that community. We know they live on lower incomes and work in industries harder hit by COVID, so this is about understanding how a vulnerable population is impacted.”

While the pandemic has been challenging for everyone, LGBTQ+ people experienced additional burdens due to inequities that have been exposed, said Adrian Shanker, the executive director of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown.

“There’s a sense of exhaustion,” he said. “There is a lot of anxiety that comes up from that and from change in general.”

Read more at Inquirer.com.

The reluctance of Asian Americans to speak about anti-Asian racism must be considered within a broader cultural context. Stoicism is a highly prized characteristic in many Asian cultures. Studies have suggested that Asians are more reluctant to complain and rarely seek third-party remediation. Asian Americans are also less likely to utilize mental health resources than non-Asians.

In addition to this cultural predilection for silent suffering, Asians have been reluctant to speak out against anti-Asian racism because of the insidious model minority myth. They fear that giving voice to their experiences will be met with derisive suggestions to “stop being so sensitive” or comparisons to the very real traumatic effects of systemic racism on other communities of color.

The problem with eating bitterness is that it runs counter to the long and storied American tradition of using activism as a vehicle for change. This has undermined the dogged efforts of multiple generations of Asian American activists to humanize the Asian American experience.

To truly stop anti-Asian hate, we must reverse the long-standing dehumanization of Asian people and put an end to the apathy with which our society views the Asian American experience. Although we are all born with the capacity for empathy, it does take work to renew and replenish our empathetic well. In light of this, Asian Americans must no longer suffer in stoic silence. We must first offer our own voices so that others may amplify them. We need to feel comfortable sharing our own painful personal stories. This is how communication begins.

Read more at MedicalNewsToday.com.

Mental health has been at the forefront of many discussions due to the pandemic and all the disruptions it has caused. But for some, the topic of mental health is one that tends to be pushed to the corner. According to a Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, in the United States, 28% of Puerto Ricans, 13% of Mexican Americans and 10% of Cuban Americans had symptoms of depression – yet only 10% of these people actually seek help from a mental health provider.

Tais Solis, a 20-year-old student at Wichita State University from Mexican heritage considers herself to be someone who often deals with depression.

“I have days where I am extremely happy and outgoing, other days I just want to cry and not be around anyone because I am not feeling happy,” Solis said. Growing up, she felt that she could not speak about these thoughts with her family because she feared being judged or not understood. As Solis grew older and surrounded herself with friends of different backgrounds, she realized she was not alone.

“My parents are hard-core Mexicans,” Samuel Covarrubias, a 24-year-old Wichita State University student, said. “I love how passionate they are about their culture, but it makes it hard sometimes to be able to talk to them about certain issues they don’t consider important or even understand.” Covarrubias also suffers from depression. During the COVID-19 shutdown, Covarrubias felt like his depression got worse. “It was definitely a difficult time [COVID-19 shutdown] especially because I felt very alone since I could not see my friends,” Covarrubias said.

“I feel like not being able to hang out with my friends as often definitely has contributed to me feeling depressed more often,” Covarrubias said. “I am stuck at home a lot of the time and the only people I can talk to and vent about my issues with are my family members.” Covarrubias has used the extra time alone with his family to educate his parents and siblings about mental health issues.

Read more at TheSunflower.com.

In order to highlight pockets of excellence across the country, the NNED selects a partner organization to highlight once a month. Self-Help for the Elderly, has been selected as the Partner of the Month for May in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

Self-Help for the Elderly began as a non-profit organization serving seniors in San Francisco’s Chinatown community in 1966. Today, Self-Help for the Elderly serves over 40,000 older adults each year in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda counties.

Over 90% of the clients are low-income and from minority communities. Self-Help for the Elderly are dedicated to improving the quality of life for older adults by empowering seniors to help themselves and by providing comprehensive range of multicultural and multilingual services. They are firmly committed to the seniors’ security, freedom and peace of mind and promoting their independence, dignity and self-worth.

The some of the programs and services that are currently offered:

• Health & Home Care – The health & home care services help take all the weight off of family caregivers. They provide seniors with care in their own homes and outside of their homes. The goal is to enhance the quality of life of both the patient and their caregiver.
• Senior Housing – Self-Help provides apartment complexes for independent living in some of San Francisco’s highly sought after areas. The housing is affordable and comes with licensed quality care.
• Activity Centers – It is important for seniors to stay active and eat healthy in order to maintain their health. Our activity centers hold many activities for seniors to remain active and learn how to improve their health, including exercise classes, healthy meals, and much more!
• Nutrition Services – Self-Help for the Elderly’s nutrition services are helpful for seniors who have a difficult time getting the proper nutrition for their bodies. Many seniors have a difficult time going to the grocery store or trying to cook for themselves. They offer different options to provide any senior with the food and nutrients that they need to sustain a happy and healthy lifestyle.
• Social Services – From the beginning of Self-Help of the Elderly, they have provided guidance and solutions for case management, elder advocacy, counseling, naturalization and in-home support to the residents of the San Francisco area.
• Employment Services – To combat poverty, Self-Help for the Elderly supports older and displaced workers throughout the job seeking process. Our services include training, counseling, job placement and retention.

Learn more about Self-Help for the Elderly and their mission to promote independence, well-being, and dignity for older adults through culturally aligned services and programs in the San Francisco Bay Area. They envision a world where all elders have the respect, care, and support to lead dignified and vibrant lives.

View a list of previous NNED Partners of the Month.