One of the Bay Area’s largest Asian American support groups held an unusual summit in Oakland.
The Asian Pacific Fund’s AANHPI summit took place at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. It was a mix of providers, agencies and community groups, who share a lot of common goals. but not always the same room.
The opening blessing at the AANHPI summit 2024 set the tone, this was not the usual type of gathering to discuss such a serious theme: ‘Reclaiming and Redefining Our Mental Health.’
“The summit is really about believing that our community has the answers to our toughest problems. We just have to ask and we also have to listen. So, that’s what today is about,” said Carolyn Wang Kong, APF President
Comedian and Pulitzer Prize finalist in drama Kristina Wong had the crowd laughing and thinking as she tossed around stuffed comfort cats to get people to talk about what makes them feel wellness.
“Getting better, learning to survive every day. It’s not as easy as just seeing a one-hour therapist. They’re not one size fits all,” she said.
Which is why Kaiser Clinical Psychologist Joanne Lam said this summit was so important.
Local
“We can talk about some of the difficult challenges that comes up in the community and we can talk about different ways to address it at a macro level. So, this is a very exciting time,” she said.
There were several riveting panels, ranging from dealing with domestic issues to institutional racism and violence .. stressing "we’re in this together."
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Robert Handa has the full story in the video above.
