White House convenes summit addressing mental health needs of AA and NHPI

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Krystal Ka'ai, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. 

This year's mass shooters in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, the suicide of popular singer Coco Lee, the trauma suffered by Asian American elders in the season of anti-Asian hate are all recent examples of the growing need to address the mental health needs of Asian Americans.

“Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders face unique barriers to behavioral health care, and today’s summit is a critical step in destigmatizing psychological needs, improving health outcomes, and expanding access to quality, affordable mental health services for our communities,” said Krystal Ka‘ai, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. 

July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month and last week, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hosted an in-person summit focused on improving equity and access to behavioral health care for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities.

“Our national survey data shows that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders have significant mental health needs and concerns,” said Dr. Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and leader of SAMHSA, which co-hosted the July 20 mental health summit. 

Held in recognition of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, the historic event featured officials from key federal agencies, mental health professionals, researchers, federal policymakers, community organizations, and Biden-Harris Administration leaders -- including members of President Biden’s Cabinet. Through five issue-specific conversations, attendees worked to identify innovative federal and local solutions for the unique behavioral health challenges AA and NHPIs face.

“The well-being of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander individuals and families hold tremendous significance in our efforts to build a healthier nation,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. 

“At HHS, we embrace cultural competency and are committed to making behavioral health services accessible to underserved communities. This inaugural event will help to strengthen our efforts around behavioral health for AA and NHPIs,” said Becerra.

AA and NHPI communities have been deeply impacted by America’s mental health crisis, with the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Asian sentiment fueling a rise in depression, anxiety, stress, and physical symptoms. 

According to federal data, in 2020, suicide was the leading cause of death among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, ages 10 to 19, and the second leading cause of death among those ages 20-34. 

The political and cultural conditions that have generated anti-Asian hate has created a shaky mental health environment for AA and NHPIs.

The mental health woes are compounded because AA and NHPIs are some of the least likely communities to seek mental health treatment due to longstanding barriers – including cultural stigma, the lack of culturally competent care providers, and language barriers.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra spoke at the first ever AA and NHPI mental health summit
held at the White House.

The July 20 event, the first AA and NHPI mental health summit ever convened the Biden-Harris Administration, is the direct result of a May 2022 recommendation from the President’s Advisory Commission on AA and NHPIs. It also follows the release of the Administration’s first-ever national strategy to advance equity and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities in January 2023, and builds on President Biden’s comprehensive national strategy to transform how mental health is understood and treated.

In May 2021, President Joe Biden re-established and reinvigorated the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders through Executive Order 14031. The Initiative engages federal agencies to improve interagency policymaking, program development, and outreach, and address barriers impacting AA and NHPIs across the country.

“If we want to raise the bar in education, we must ensure our students feel safe, seen, and supported while at school. Yet the pandemic led to troubling declines in mental health for all students, including our Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian students,” said US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

“Because the AA and NHPI population is not monolithic, it is important to not only recognize the health disparities the whole community faces, but also the specific, distinct health inequities among these communities.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.