Hate crimes and incidents against Asian Americans have been on the rise since the pandemic began.
On Tuesday, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors will debate whether to increase funding for "L.A. Versus Hate." The program helps victims report hate crimes and attacks. It also helps them find additional support, such as counseling.
For some victims, it's an alternative to calling 911.
Hong Lee says she reached out to L.A. Versus Hate for counseling after she was verbally accosted at a restaurant. She said the program gave her the support she didn't receive from police:
"The police officer arrived and he informed me that there was no incident, there was no crime, and so he asked me to head out, and I did not give a police report. I never felt so alone in my life."
"Even if [the police officer] doesn't think it's hate, they should be detailed about their report and let the DA decide if this is a hate crime," Sykes told LAist/KPCC.
Victims can file a report at lavshate.org or by calling the county's 211 information line.
L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis says more than 800 attacks have been reported to the 211 line during the past year.
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
