Anti-Asian hate's impact on the AANHPI communities is greater than we think

About 1 in 5 Asian Americans in California worried "all the time" or "often" about being a victim of a hate crime, with worries especially high among Filipino Americans, according to a new study.

The AAPI Data Project at UC Riverside and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) recently released a comprehensive report revealing economic hardships, negative health outcomes and a rise in hate incidents experienced by Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"California's investment to increase the available data on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities is essential in improving public understanding of the needs, barriers, and challenges that AA and NHPI communities face," said Karthick Ramakrishnan, professor of public policy at UC Riverside and founder of AAPI Data. "We hope that policymakers as well as those in charge of policy implementation will use the findings and recommendations in this report to create better programs and services that address the diversity in needs and challenges faced by AA and NHPI communities in California."

One of the key findings of the study, the Post-Pandemic Agenda for Community Well-being among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in Californiais that information about access to heath and mental health needs is not getting to the AANHPI communities resulting in poor medical outcomes and high suicide rates

Using data from UCLA CHPR's 2018–2021 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), as well as the 2019 and 2021 American Community Survey, the study found that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders experienced difficulties accessing health and mental health services, as well as affordable and quality housing, education, and food.

The impact was vast in health outcomes, with about 3 in 10 Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in California reported difficulties in accessing health services, and 1 in 4 experiencing difficulties in accessing mental health services. Cost was the most common reason for difficulty in accessing health services, with 7 in 10 experiencing this financial burden, however a lack of knowledge about available options was the top reason for difficulty in accessing mental health services.

The Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities have grappled with a rise in violence in recent years—from the anti-Asian hate incidents that occurred during the pandemic to the recent back-to-back mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay. 

The 2021 CHIS, which added questions on attitudes about gun violence, found that Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders reported the highest proportions of concern about gun violence: 66% of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and 65% of Asian Americans said they were "very worried" or "somewhat worried" about gun violence, more than double the percentage of white adults (30%).

Economic hardship was another overwhelming issue for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in California. Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, each saw higher poverty rates in 2021, compared to 2019. According to the study, more than half of respondents indicated that they had difficulty accessing high-quality or affordable housing due to financial cost and 36% said they had difficulty accessing quality or affordable food.

"After studying the emotional and economic impacts brought on by the pandemic over the last three years, it's clear there is a significant burden on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities in California," Ninez A. Ponce, UCLA CHPR director and CHIS principal investigator, said. "These findings suggest an urgent need to address the gaps in access to health care, which have gotten perpetually worse as the pandemic continues to take a toll on this community."

Another major cause for concern is the ongoing issue of hate incidents and discrimination against the Asian American community. Data show 1 in 4 Asian Americans had ever been a victim of a hate crime or incident in their lifetime, and 1 in 5 said they worried all the time or often about being a victim.

To address racial injustices and economic inequities within the state's system, researchers suggest that policymakers act against such prejudices by creating a more equitable framework for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders across the state.

Recommendations include a focus on addressing inequities across the mental health system, improving awareness and access to public and government programs, investing in culturally competent care and services, increasing partnerships between state and community-based organizations, building additional language access, and widening access to data on Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.

The report is part of a series of reports by AAPI Data and the California Health Interview Survey focused on measuring the social, economic, and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. The goal is to highlight the gaps in access to health, mental health, and social services for those communities.

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, our community faced not only a major increase in hate crimes and incidents, but struggled financially and could not access care," said California Assemblymember Phil Ting, chair of the Assembly Budget Committee.

"When I championed the API Equity Budget in 2021, we knew that the AAPI Data Project needed resourced to research our community's necessities. The recommendations from this report help us understand the hardships that the API community is facing, and helps us identify service gaps in order for the government and our community partners to address these needs."

Other highlights of the report:

HEALTH

• Between 2019 and 2021, Hispanics/Latinos and Asian Americans had statistically significant increases in reports of delays in health care due to system and provider barriers.
  
• By 2021, Asian Americans and NHPIs were more likely than Whites to rely on community-based health care. 
• About 3 in 10 Asian Americans in California reported difficulties in accessing health services, and cited financial cost, lack of awareness about options, lack of insurance, and limited English proficiency as the most salient challenges.
  
• Doctors, government health agencies, and friends/family remain by far the most trusted sources of medical information for Asian Americans. Only 37 percent of Asian Americans trusted social media apps for medical information.​
  

MENTAL HEALTH AND COMMUNITY WELL-BEING: 

• Suicide ideation increased between 2018/19 and 2020/21 for Asian Americans, as for many other groups, with increases especially pronounced among non-U.S. citizens.
  
• Yet the share of Asian Americans receiving mental health services did not change before and after the onset of COVID. 
  
• Major barriers for finding mental health services include lack of knowledge about available options, financial cost, lack of insurance, and limited options in their neighborhood. 
  
• Fear of gun violence is a significant contributor to community anxiety and the lack of well-being.
  
• Even before the 2023 shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, California, Asian Americans and NHPIs were the groups most worried about becoming a victim of gun violence.
  

EXPERIENCES WITH HATE 

• One in 4 Asian Americans in California reported having ever experienced a hate crime or hate incident, with Southeast Asians reporting the highest levels of experiences with hate. 
  
• Among those who had ever experienced hate crimes or hate incidents, most had done so before 2020.
  
• Asian American men were significantly more likely than Asian American women to be threatened or harassed (16% vs.10%, respectively) and also more likely to have been mocked or had offensive physical gestures made towards them (15% vs. 9 %, respectively).
  
• About 1 in 5 Asian Americans in California worried "all the time" or "often" about being a victim of a hate crime, with worries especially high among Filipino Americans.
  

A mural in New York City.

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS

• Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders all saw higher poverty rates, and lower labor force participation rates, in 2021 than in 2019.
  
• The labor force participation rate for Indian Americans increased slightly between 2019 and 2021, while Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese Americans saw statistically significant decreases.
  
• The share of NHPI homeowners with mortgages who were burdened with housing cost (spending 30% or more of household income on housing) increased from 35% to 45% between 2019 to 2021.
  
• Asian Americans in California report relying mostly on friends or family members for assistance in accessing quality or affordable housing, with government agencies a distant second.
  
• About 2 in 5 Asian American respondents indicated that they had difficulty finding quality or affordable education, with financial cost as the most common reason across groups.
  

"AAPI Data's report, Impact of COVID-19 on Access to Health, Mental Health, and Social Services for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders shines a bright light on the alarming health disparities of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities and point to the social determinants of health and mental health that we, California, must collectively and immediately address," said Nkauj Iab Yang, director of the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs.

"Now, more than ever, we must work together to change state policies and programs to meet the needs of the AANHPI communities. This is life or death, and we cannot afford any more lives taken prematurely in order to take action."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

California allocates $14 million to combat anti-Asian hate, millions more to come

Amid a rise in racist attacks across the country targeting the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, California's Gov. Gavin Newsom administration announced the distribution of $14 million in grant funds to organizations providing direct services and support to victims of hate incidents and to facilitate hate incident prevention measures. 

in partnership with the Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs and the California Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, this funding is just the first allocation of Newsom's historic California Comeback Plan approved last year, totaling an unprecedented $166.5 million for combating bias-motivated attacks, including those targeting the AAPI community.

“This is a critical investment that will go a long way towards uplifting our communities and fighting hate and violence around the state,” said Newsom. “We aim to help victims of violence, but also prevent violence in the future. History shows we need to do better, and this helps us get there.”

The California Department of Social Services will fund a total of five lead organizations, and will work with 75 additional organizations throughout California to provide these services. A complete list of grantees can be found here, and below is a summary of what organizations received in the following regions:

• Bay Area/South Bay/Central Coast – $4,168,747
• Border Region – $831,525
• Los Angeles County – $4,514,724
• Orange County/Inland Empire – $1,293,750
• Northern California/San Joaquin Valley – $3,460,500

Grants for service providers range from $50,000 – $250,000. Services and supports will include: 

• Direct services for victims and survivors of hate incidents and their families, including legal services; navigation and case management; mental and complementary health services; and wellness and community healing;

• Prevention activities, including arts and cultural work, youth development, senior safety and escort programs, safety planning training, and cross-racial alliance work; and

• Interventions, including outreach, training, restorative justice, and coordination with local government and institutional partners.

Additional information on these efforts can be found on the California Department of Social Services website.

“State investment in the Asian American Pacific Islander community is long overdue. It’s gratifying to see an initial round of grants go to deserving organizations committed to carrying out the important work of stopping AAPI hate. The funding will help provide victims with essential services and resources, as well as strengthen violence prevention programs. This is a necessary step toward creating a safer environment for all Californians, and I’m glad to see the first part of the API Equity Budget roll out,” said Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee.

This $14 million investment is only the first round of awards of the total $30 million allocated this year to provide these services. Further service provider grants will be announced in the coming weeks. Also, an additional $80 million in funding has been made available over the next two years to continue to support anti-hate efforts.

“The AAPI community has long suffered from barriers to government services and being invisible in too many ways in America. The past few years have only highlighted the vulnerability of our community to hate and the need for support,” said Senator Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), Chair of the California API Legislative Caucus. 

“The Stop the Hate funding is a historic commitment to our community. It sends a strong message to the AAPI community that they are seen, that they matter, and that they belong here. We are extremely grateful to Governor Newsom for listening to our needs and following through on his promise to help. I am also proud of the AAPI Caucus, and my colleagues in the Senate Budget committee for making this a reality.”

The California State Library is also administering $10 million for grants to ethnic media organizations to support public awareness of state-funded anti-hate services and programs and promote community healing and cross-racial understanding.

“These historic investments in community-serving organizations represent major and meaningful steps in making California an even more welcoming state for everyone,” said Dr. Karthick Ramakrishnan, Chair of the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. “By focusing on improving services to victims, survivors, and entire communities undergoing trauma, as well as paying attention to addressing the root causes of hate incidents, we hope to move much closer toward the dream of a California for All.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: Don't miss out on additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

AAPI Data: new planning tool for AAPI from the Census

A mapping tool allows the user to determine the largest AAPI group in individual counties.

Policy makers, journalists and social safety net agencies have a new tool to help them provide services to the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

AAPI communities have been the fastest growing racial groups in the country, and the 2020 Census is expected to show continued rapid population gains. 

At the same time, the Census Bureau’s research has also shown that Asian Americans are the racial group least familiar with the Census, and the ones most reluctant to participate. Given these twin hurdles, it is more essential than ever for philanthropy, government, industry, and academia to go “all in” and ensure a complete and accurate count among AAPI communities.

AAPI Data and AAPIP have released a simple, yet powerful, mapping tool to help journalists, decision-makers, and community organizations better understand the diversity and geographic settlement patterns of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. 

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this mapping tool, to help the work of policy makers and community organizations alike,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, director of AAPI Data and professor of public policy at the University of California, Riverside. “This work is in line with AAPI Data’s goals of taking a complexity of data and making them as simple and accessible as possible.”


This tool, available at https://aapidata.com/censusmaps/ provides detailed census-tract level maps for the 20 largest metropolitan areas for Asian Americans in the United States. 

For each census tract, users can see which AAPI subgroup lives in the tract, as well as get more information on the population size and share of 21 Asian American and 6 Pacific Islander detailed origin groups.

“This mapping tool helps foundations bring local AAPI communities into sharper focus and to help hone their strategies to ensure that these communities are fully included in the Census efforts and beyond,” said Pat Eng, President & CEO of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP). “The tool will spark conversations across the country through AAPIP chapters, engaging philanthropic institutions, giving circles, and community organizations toward a complete count. Let’s see the people while we count!”

AAPIP and AAPI Data hope that the mapping tool will be helpful well beyond the 2020 Census, as communities engage in important conversations with public officials, nonprofit foundations, and businesses to make investments and enact policies that benefit the diverse and rapidly growing community of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Sunny Shao, a political science PhD student at UC Riverside and researcher at AAPI Data, took the lead in developing the mapping tool. “It was a wonderful opportunity for me to hone my mapping skills using ArcGIS, and to help our communities in the process,” Shao noted.

Study: California dream elusive for a quarter of AAPI struggling with poverty

APALA.NET

Sen. Mazie Herono with the AsianPacific American Labor Alliance of the AFL-CIO.

Now, can we just bury the model minority myth once and for all? A landmark survey released today by PRRI and AAPI Data finds almost a quarter of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in California are working but find themselves struggling with poverty. 

The survey finds a state of “two Californias” among AAPIs—one where some AAPI workers report a great deal of financial stability that nurtures the model minority myth in contrast with the underreported and neglected  AAPI workers report significant financial insecurity and struggle where the California Dream is more elusive.

This survey is the first to provide a comprehensive portrait of the working lives and struggles of AAPI California residents, including their economic concerns and aspirations, as well as their certainty in—and doubts about—the American Dream. The survey also provides a close examination of the struggles of some AAPI ethnic groups to cover basic housing and healthcare expenses.

“All AAPI groups have significant minorities of workers within their population who are struggling, including Chinese, Filipino, and Indian Americans,” notes Karthick Ramakrishnan, professor and Founding Director of AAPI Data. “Despite the dominant images of Silicon Valley riches and well-to-do health professionals, these relatively more economically stable AAPI groups nonetheless make up a majority of the millions of struggling AAPI Californian workers.”

Almost one-third (31%) of all Californians are working and struggling with poverty. In comparison, nearly one in four (23%) AAPIs in California are working but struggling with poverty, 37% are working but not struggling with poverty, and 40% are retired, students, or otherwise not working. Among AAPI workers in California, 38% are struggling with poverty, while 62% are not.

The survey shows that there are significant differences among AAPI ethnic groups:

• Hmong (44%) and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (36%) Californians have the highest proportions of their populations who are working and struggling with poverty.

• One in five or more Cambodian (26%), Vietnamese (26%), Chinese (23%), Filipino (22%), Japanese (22%), and Indian (20%) Californians are working and struggling with poverty, with Korean Americans (15%) least likely to be working and struggling with poverty.

• More than eight in ten (82%) Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders report that they experienced at least one of ten possible economic hardships, like being unable to pay a monthly bill or having to use food stamps, as have about seven in ten Hmong (76%), Cambodians (71%), and Vietnamese (70%).

• The San Joaquin Valley (50%) and Inland Empire (37%) regions have the highest proportion of AAPIs who are working and struggling with poverty.

Despite the findings showing a side of the AAPI communities rarely acknowledged by the broader world, a majority of AAPI Californians (62%) still believe in the American Dream: that if you work hard, you’ll get ahead. AAPI Californians born outside of the U.S. are more likely than those born in the U.S. to believe the American Dream still holds true (69% vs. 43%).

At the same time, 55% of AAPI Californians question the “bootstrap” narrative that “hard work and determination alone” guarantees success for most people. About two-thirds of AAPI Californians (64%) working and struggling with poverty, compared to a smaller majority (54%) of AAPI workers who are not struggling with poverty disagree with this bootstrap narrative.

“Recent AAPI immigrants come to California with an optimistic vision of achieving the American Dream,” notes PRRI CEO Robert P. Jones. “While they are still more optimistic than Californians overall, the longer they’re here, the more their real-life struggles and hardships erode this optimism and the sense that the American Dream is possible.”

Regarding the California Dream (the idea that Californians are more likely to experience the rewards of their efforts in the state than elsewhere in the country), AAPI Californians are somewhat more optimistic than Californians overall. A majority (55%) of all Californians, compared to only 39% of AAPI Californians, say the American Dream is harder to achieve in California.

Facing Economic Insecurity 

Almost one in five AAPI Californians (18%) say that it would be either very difficult or nearly impossible to pay a $400 emergency expense. AAPI Californians are virtually as likely as all Californians (17%) to experience this level of economic insecurity.

These difficulties cut across all AAPI ethnic subgroups. One-third or more of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (37%), Cambodians (34%), and Hmong (33%) say it would be very difficult or nearly impossible to pay a $400 emergency expense. Nearly one in four Vietnamese (24%), one in five Filipino (19%) and Indian (19%), one in six Japanese (16%), and one in ten Chinese (12%) and Korean (10%) Californians also report that paying a $400 emergency expense would be very difficult or nearly impossible.

Almost one in five AAPI Californians say that they or someone in their household had to put off seeing their doctor or purchasing medication for financial reasons (19%), had difficulty paying their rent or mortgage (19%), or were not able to pay their monthly bill (17%).

Notably, more than eight in ten (82%) Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Californians report that they experienced at least one of ten possible economic hardships, such as being unable to pay a monthly bill or having to use food stamps, as have about seven in ten Hmong (76%), Cambodians (71%), and Vietnamese (70%) Californians.

Other Notable Findings

• Challenging Workplace Conditions: AAPI workers who are struggling with poverty are more likely than non-struggling workers to have been required to work overtime without being paid for it (25% vs. 16%), to be paid less than the minimum wage (20% vs. 5%), or to have had their wages withheld by their employer (14% vs. 5%). More than six in ten (63%) say that employers generally see people like them as replaceable.

• Workplace Organizing: AAPI Californians working and struggling with poverty recognize the value of organizing to safeguard their rights. Almost seven in ten (69%) AAPI Californians and 76% of AAPI workers struggling with poverty agree that it is important for workers to organize.

• Gig Economy Participation: More than one in ten (14%) AAPI Californians worked in the gig economy over the last year, including performing miscellaneous tasks or providing services for others, such as shopping, delivering household items, assisting with childcare, or driving for a ride-hailing app. AAPI workers struggling with poverty were almost twice as likely as those not struggling to participate in the gig economy (24% vs. 15%).

• Difficulty Finding Better Jobs Due to Distance: Among AAPI workers who are struggling with poverty, a majority (55%) say that most jobs are too far away from where they live, as do nearly half of AAPI workers who are not struggling with poverty (48%).

READ the entire AAPI/PRRI survey here.

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