KCCD Launches Mental Health Collaborative Sponsored by SAMHSA

in March 2013, the Kore­an Church­es for Com­mu­ni­ty Devel­op­ment (KCCD — www.kccd.org ) and SAMHSA has launched an ini­tia­tive to bring togeth­er faith-based  Asian and Kore­an lead­ers and orga­ni­za­tions in South­ern Cal­i­for­nia to address the men­tal health and well-being needs of the Asian and Asian Pacif­ic Islander (AAPI) com­mu­ni­ties. Through KCCD’s lead­er­ship, an AAPI  Faith Alliance Men­tal Health Col­lab­o­ra­tive has been formed.  Grace Welt­man, Pres­i­dent of Com­mu­ni­ties in Motion is facil­i­tat­ing this effort.  Below are some impor­tant sta­tis­tics about the AAPI community.

ASIAN AMERICAN MENTAL HEALTH FACTS 

Pre­pared by KCCD

Con­trary to the mod­el minor­i­ty myth, many Kore­an and Asian Amer­i­cans in South­ern Cal­i­for­nia are suf­fer­ing in silence with men­tal health and sub­stance abuse issues.

•  Asian Amer­i­cans are the fastest grow­ing vic­tims of hate crimes.
• ·Sui­cide rates among Asian Amer­i­can youth and young adults are among the high­est across all eth­nic groups across the Unit­ed States.
• ·30% of Asian Amer­i­can girls from 5th to 12th grade report hav­ing symp­toms of depression.
• ·17% of boys (5th to 12th grades report they expe­ri­ence phys­i­cal abuse.
• ·60% of Kore­an mar­ried women report being bat­tered by their spouses.
• ·Most Asians are reluc­tant to report domes­tic violence.
• · Asian gangs are the fasters grow­ing street gangs in L.A. Coun­ty with 20,000 members.
• Asian Amer­i­cans have the high­est per­cent­age of juve­nile arrests in L.A. County.