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Coalition Of Groups Comes Together To Try To Serve Mental Health Needs Of Monterey Park AAPI Victims
Police work near the scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, on January 22, 2023. The mass shooting happened during Lunar New Year festivities, with many victims coming from the AAPI community.
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Robyn Beck
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AFP via Getty Images
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A coalition of groups is coming together to see how they might serve the mental health needs of victims, victims’ families and the larger Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in the wake of the Monterey Park shooting.
What is the coalition?
The AAPI Equity Alliance is a trade group of dozens of nonprofits that started coming together Sunday to find mental health resources for the AAPI community. Myron Quon, CEO of Pacific Asian Counseling Services and board member for AAPI Equity Alliance said his community needs more mental health resources tailored to their needs.
A focus on elders
Quon said there are major gaps when it comes to accessible mental health services for the older AAPI demographic. He says his and other groups are looking at setting up support groups and other resources in the coming days.
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Language and cultural barriers
Quon was less than two miles away from the shooting when it happened. He says his community is still distraught and it doesn’t make things easier that the victims were in their 50s or older.
“We worry so much about serving our Asian seniors because they don’t speak English well. And even those who speak English well don’t want to go to mainstream services because they don’t understand the culture,” Quon said.
Resources for the AAPI community
If you need help
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- The Chinatown Service Center's behavioral health team is offering on call support at: 213-808-1700
- The Chinatown Service Center and City of Monterey Park will offer drop-in, multilingual counseling services on select days through Feb. 3 at Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library:
318 S. Ramona Ave. - The Asian Mental Health Collective has a U.S. therapist directory with professionals who specialize in serving the AAPI community.
- AMHC also has a range of free mental health support groups.
- The AAPI Equity Alliance has put together a resource directory for those in need of trauma support
- NAMI California’s list of AAPI mental health resources
- The Asians For Mental Health Therapist Directory
- The California Victims Compensation Board reimburses mental health services for victims and their families.
- Changing Tides, part of the Little Tokyo Service Center, offers stipends for AAPI youth seeking therapy. (https://thechangingtides.org/)
Resources for anyone in crisis
Assistance For Mental Health Crises Or Support
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If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs immediate help, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or visit the 988 website for online chat.
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For more help:
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- Find 5 Action Steps for helping someone who may be suicidal, from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
- Six questions to ask to help assess the severity of someone's suicide risk, from the Columbia Lighthouse Project.
- To prevent a future crisis, here's how to help someone make a safety plan.
- Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health’s 24/7 Help Line (Spanish available): 800-854-7771.
- East Los Angeles Women’s Center 24/7 crisis hotline (Spanish available): 800-585-6231.
Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for 24/7 crisis counseling.
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How you can help
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GoFundMe has set up a dedicated fundraising page to support survivors and loved ones of the mass shooting. The list includes:
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- Monterey Park Lunar New Year Victims Fund (all funds will go to those affected by the shooting)
- Classroom of Compassion in Monterey Park, CA (all funds go toward travel and expenses to install public altars for those who have died — which organizers have done for other shootings)
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GoFundMe says these funds are verified, meaning their team is ensuring donations will be used as claimed. You can see the full list here.
About the Monterey Park shooting
Update
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A mass shooting at a dance studio in Monterey Park late in the evening on Saturday, Jan. 21, left 10 people dead at the scene and 10 others wounded. An 11th victim died Monday.
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What we know so far:
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- About those killed: The youngest person killed was 57 and four others were in their 70s.
- Still searching for a reason. “We still don't have a motive, but we want to know the motive behind this tragic event, and the FBI continues to collaborate with us in that portion of the investigation,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Monday.
- Motive remains unknown: The gunman has been identified as a 72-year-old man who authorities said died by suicide as police approached his cargo van in Torrance late Sunday morning
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As we report on that shooting, we are also resurfacing resources and previous reporting that can help people understand the context and get help, if needed.
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