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.

Nat'l Center for AANHPI Behavioral Health to be established

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) was awarded nearly $3.5 million from the US Department of Health and Human Services to establish a first-of-its-kind national Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Behavioral Health Center of Excellence.

“Truly responsive behavioral health services must address stigma and provide resources that address cultural trauma and culturally-informed treatment,” said Marian Tsuji, Deputy Director of Behavioral Health.

DOH will receive the nearly $3.5 million in federal funds over the next five years. The Center of Excellence will promote culturally and linguistically appropriate behavioral health information and practices; establish a steering committee with participants from across the country to identify emerging issues; and provide training, technical assistance, and consultation to practitioners, educators and community organizations. Key partners include Papa Ola Lokahi and San Jose State University.

 “We are honored to lead this national Center of Excellence to bring together cultural practitioners, behavioral health experts, and other stakeholders to ensure that we are meeting systemic behavioral health needs of our diverse communities,” said Tsuiji.

Research on mental health of NHPIs is limited, but studies focused on AANHPIs in general suggest that mental health is highly stigmatized, with limited help-seeking from these communities. Social stigma, shame, religion, and lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate services, may prevent many community members from talking about mental health and seeking care when needed.

AANHPIs include people with ancestry from the continent of Asia and the Pacific Islands from over 50 ethnicities, with over 100 languages and dialects.

AANHPIs are the fastest-growing ethnic minority group in the country, yet are the least likely group to receive care for mental illness. More than 76% of AANHPI individuals who have been diagnosed with a mental illness and 93% of those with substance use disorder do not receive treatment. 

Additionally, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that in 2019, Asian Pacific Islanders, ages 15-24 years old, was the only race/ethnicity group in this age category where suicide was the leading cause of death.

The AANHPI Center of Excellence will develop infographics and other materials that address behavioral health, including those that provide data disaggregated by race and ethnicity; provide guidance on best practices for improving engagement and retention of AANHPI behavioral health professionals; and serve as an accessible and trusted clearinghouse for evidence-based behavioral health resources and products.

From March 2020 to March 2022, over 11,500 incidents of AANHPI discrimination were reported by Stop AAPI Hate. 

On January 26, 2021, President Biden issued the Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States, which calls for the federal government to address this issue. 

Agencies across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – including SAMHSA – in coordination with the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, are working together to advance cultural competency, language access and sensitivity toward AAPIs within the federal COVID-19 response. In addition, on May 20, 2021, President Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act to reduce the number of hate crimes against AANHPIs by expediting the hate crime review process through the Department of Justice and providing additional federal grants to local enforcement agencies to address these issues. 

“Today’s announcement is a key step in the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to eliminate health disparities affecting AA and NHPI communities,” said Krystal Ka‘ai, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. “This new center will provide access to culturally and linguistically appropriate behavioral health services that are essential as our communities continue to grapple with the effects of the pandemic and anti-Asian violence.”

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

Hate and pandemic added to reestablished White House Initiative on AANHPI

Native Hawaiian Krystal Ka'ai will serve as executive director of the White House Initiative on
Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order Friday reestablishing the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, reinvigorating the body by expanding its responsibilities, including coordinating a "comprehensive" federal response to the rise in anti-Asian violence and discrimination.

"... For far too long, systemic barriers to equity, justice, and opportunity have put the American dream out of reach for many AA and NHPI communities, and racism, nativism, and xenophobia against AA and NHPI communities continues to threaten safety and dignity of AA and NHPI families," stated a White House fact sheet.

Long-time Capitol veteran Krystal Ka’ai, a Native Hawaiian and executive director of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, will serve as the executive director for the initiative, which will include representatives from across the executive branch.

The AANHPI communities make up the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States and make invaluable contributions to America's society, economy, and culture states the White House. 

"Yet for far too long, systemic barriers to equity, justice, and opportunity have put the American dream out of reach for many AA and NHPI communities, and racism, nativism, and xenophobia against AA and NHPI communities continues to threaten safety and dignity of AA and NHPI families," continues the order.

The Commission will advise the President on ways the public, private and nonprofit sectors can work together to advance equity and opportunity for every AA and NHPI community. 

The Commission is also charged with advising the President on policies to address anti-Asian xenophobia and violence, ways to build capacity in AA and NHPI communities through federal grantmaking, and policies to address the intersectional barriers that AA and NHPI women, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities face. 

The Commission will include AA and NHPI civic leaders from across the country, and will reflect the rich diversity of AA and NHPI communities throughout the United States.

The new Initiative is charged with driving an ambitious, whole-of-government agenda to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities by:

• Helping to coordinate a comprehensive Federal response to the rise in acts of anti-Asian bias and violence
• Addressing the systemic lack of disaggregated data on AA and NHPI communities in Federal statistical systems
• Expanding language access and language assistance programs for AA and NHPI individuals across federal programs
• Strengthening economic security and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities by empowering AA and NHPI entrepreneurs, building new workforce training opportunities, and promoting workplaces that are free from harassment against AA and NHPI workers
• Addressing the concentration of poverty experienced in many AA and NHPI communities
• Addressing disparities in educational outcomes for AA and NHPI students of all ages, and addressing bullying, harassment, and discrimination in our Nation’s schools
• Advancing climate and environmental justice for AA and NHPI communities who are particularly impacted by the climate crisis and are overburdened by environmental degradation
• Promoting inclusion and belonging for all AA and NHPI communities by strengthening public awareness and education about AA and NHPI communities, cultures, and traditions
• Empowering AA and NHPI communities to be civically engaged, including through electoral participation
• Building a Federal workforce where AA and NHPI public servants are leaders at the most senior levels of our government
• Ensuring that AA and NHPI communities are empowered and equitably served by Federal funding, grants, and contract

“Data disaggregation is a racial and health equity issue. Disaggregating data plays a critical role in better understanding how Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities are adversely impacted by health, economic and social inequities." said Rod Lew, MPH, Executive Director of Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy, and Leadership (APPEAL)

At a time where anti-Asian hate is surging, the AANHPI communities are also a pandemic that has disproportionately hit these communities revealing the significant health inequities faced by many Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in particular. To ensure that the Federal government is mitigating COVID-19 related anti-Asian bias, advancing health equity for all AA and NHPI communities, and ensuring AA and NHPI communities can equitably recover from these crises, the Initiative will be led out of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Ka'ai's appointment has greeted with praise.

“The appointment of Krystal Kaʻai serves as a beacon of hope and provides a sense of place for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. We are excited and eager to work with Krystal and the Biden Administration to address the important needs of our community” said Kūhiō Lewis, President and CEO for the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.

Ka'ai has served as the Executive Director of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) since 2013, leading legislative, communications, and outreach strategy for a bicameral caucus composed of more than 70 members in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. 

She worked to advanced key priorities impacting the AAPI community, including health care, immigration, education, civil rights, economic development, and more. She previously served in various roles with the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the State of Hawai‘i.

Juliet K. Choi, President and CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, said: "We’re especially pleased that the Initiative will be led out of the Department of Health and Human Services, as our AA and NHPI communities have faced, and continue to face, long standing disparate health outcomes that have been magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbated by xenophobia and anti-Asian hat."