HTLA- Episode 56: Is There a 'Generational Divide' in Mental Health?

Myron Quon  00:00

[music in] There needs to be a lot of grace, patience, understanding. There needs to be a lot of- Let's take the time now to learn a little bit more about our Asian American brothers and sisters.

Brian De Los Santos  00:16

[music swells] This is How To LA, the podcast that aims to help you navigate this city's complicated issues. I'm Brian De Los Santos. Communities across Los Angeles are still in mourning over last Saturday's shooting in Monterey Park. We're starting to learn more about the victims, men and women mostly in their 60s and 70s who were out for a night of dancing at the Star Dance Ballroom. We learned more about the suspected shooter too, a 72 year old Asian man who used to, according to people who reportedly knew him, go to that same ballroom where he shot and killed at least 11 people and injured more. It's a lot to process. As the people of Monterey Park and beyond try to pick up the pieces following this tragedy, we want to talk about mental health and mental health access, especially for older members of the larger Asian American Pacific Islander community. Mental health can be hard to talk about and even harder to find resources for some folks in different communities. So today, I'm talking to Myron Quon. He's the CEO of the Pacific Asian Counseling Services, which is part of the AAPI Equity Alliance. PACS is one of the few community mental health agencies focused on the AAPI community. Thanks for joining us.

Myron Quon  01:40

Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

Brian De Los Santos  01:43

What are some of the services that you provide to the AAPI community in Los Angeles that are kind of unique and, and you know, whether it is language, uh, services, or anything else that is more specific to this community?

Myron Quon  01:54

So, in terms of the services we provide, we, we provide some of the bread and butter work that, that you might expect we would provide to low income folks in LA County. [music out] We provide services to homeless folks. We provide services to kids going to school who need additional help or are having mental crises. Certainly, if they don't speak English well, we try and meet them where they're at and provide services in the language that they need. And then, everyone here in LA comes with unique stories and unique origins, right? [mumbles] So for PACS, we try to be aware- Are you here because you're a refugee? Are you here because of genocide? Were your grandparents folks who went through World War II? Are you LGBTQ, and your parents are not supportive because of their cultural backgrounds? So we try and go into those areas with a little bit more information, and certainly, we- if we have the capacity, go ahead and provide the services in the language that you would prefer.

Brian De Los Santos  02:52

I'm hearing a lot of like, intersectionality here, when you provide these services, and I think at this moment in time, with you know, the Monterey Park shooting, after something horrific like this happens, what do you think the people in Monterey Park or people who are impacted by this in the greater AAPI community need right now?

Myron Quon  03:11

There, there needs to be a lot of grace, patience, understanding. There needs to be a lot of- Let's take the time now to learn a little bit more about our Asian American brothers and sisters. I think there's a lot of commonalities among those of us who live in LA, those of us who are communities of color. We tend to revere our elders. We tend to recognize the social capital that they bring. We recognize that they've had, [laughs] they've had so many more struggles than we do as, as folks who've benefited from what they've done to get as far as they have in this country, and as far as they have in the county, and the city. We also have to recognize that when it comes to these particular, um, this mass shooting in Monterey Park, and again, now there's been another one in Half Moon Bay, uh, we recognize that it looks like the perpetrators were Asian senior men, and that troubles [laughs] everyone within our community in terms of, one- we're worried about greater retribution against Asian elders, Asian elder men. We're also- There's a lot of stigma and shame as, um, Asian folks- We think to ourselves, Our Asian elders are supposed to bring honor and respect to the entire community. And so instead we have the characteristics of these two folks being elevated and, and many community members are shocked and horrified, are still trying to figure out where, where does this all lead?

Brian De Los Santos  04:37

Yeah, you bring up a really good point that I want to touch upon, which is, uh, you know, these suspects have been older Asian males and, um, I've been hearing a lot lately about a generational divide when it comes to mental health access. Not just in the AAPI community, but also of other communities of color across Los Angeles, and there's also this willingness to access it. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Myron Quon  05:01

It's been amazing to see a generational divide come up all of a sudden. It's very clear that those who are younger and of Asian descent, or communities of color, because again, like the stigma, shame impacts all communities of color, those who are of, of a younger generation are now not afraid to talk out and process their feelings, to highlight, elevate the needs that they have. Or else, just trying to figure out on their own way, how to navigate any sort of issues that may be impacting them. That is very much just like a night and day comparison. When you look at the older generation, older folks continue to have a lot of stigma and shame when it comes to, uh, mental health, right? They don't- They, they think, Pray it away. They might think, You did something bad in a past life, so this is just how it's gotta be. You know- You have to have a strong character and if you have a strong character there's no such thing as a mental health issue. I do believe that older generation even now would prefer that if you have some sort of addiction or mental health issue, the storyline would be, Oh, they left town. They went to Arizona, or they went back to Thailand. The stigma, shame is so deep and so, so burdensome, it's, it's preferable to go with a lie about what happened, rather than actually talk about within your own family, let alone with the broader community that you're within, and then even the broader, say, Los Angeles community.

Brian De Los Santos  05:01

I'm curious to know like, what are, what are those mental health collectives doing to bridge those cultural traditions that may be from people's, you know, native countries, or even like their transition to, you know, American culture? Like, what are they doing to boost awareness about mental health here in Los Angeles?

Myron Quon  06:45

Yeah, that's such a great question. [clears throat] Again, we're really talking about no more than a dozen of us who are based in LA County. [clears throat] We all serve either Pacific Islander, South Asian folks, Southeast Asian folks, East Asian folks. When we talk about our Asian elders, you know, gotta go to the senior centers and you might even have to go to the senior complexes where our community members live. We've already been doing safety, health, and wellness checks on our elders since the lockdown, as, as a lot of them became shut ins. And due to the increase in anti-Asian hate, and, and also fear of exposure to COVID, many did become linguistically and socially isolated.

Brian De Los Santos  07:22

Being a, um, a homegrown Angeleno myself, like, I- I know this city is just complicated, trying to navigate it sometimes, right? And I just imagine the added layer from someone who's maybe recently arrived from another country, or there's a language barrier, or just trying to get their foot in the door and, and trying to understand how to grasp the culture here in Los Angeles- What are some of the biggest barriers to accessing like mental health resources, or just, um, overall help here in Los Angeles for AAPI folks in LA?

Myron Quon  07:51

The reality is that when it comes to seeking a person who speaks your language, and at least has a little bit of cultural humility, and understanding who you are, is just, just not a lot. I mean, and so based on just hitting at the, the lack of mental health clinicians, you know, there's a workforce shortage, and that's absolutely true, but then you add on the layer of those who speak another language fluently, [laughs] and those who at least have a little bit, if not a lot of cultural competence with a patient's background. That is, that's a part of the problem. We just don't have enough people who speak another language, and we don't have enough people who understand where people come from. How can we break down the system a bit so it's much more accessible and, and readily available to folks during crisis? And that's, that's a, a question that I'm working on and certainly all of my sister agencies, their leaders are also trying to think it through right now.

Brian De Los Santos  08:46

I, I know as for my personal just, self, like navigating mental health help can be a little bit daunting. You know, when I started my journey, um- and that's through all through private care, so I'm, I'm fortunate to have- through private care, but like, resources that are for, for the public and, and things that might be free or low cost and resourceful, and I'm just thinking about people who, mmm, want to help out a family member, but they don't know where to start. So I do want to make things a little personal here, and I sometimes do worry about my elders, my grandma in particular. I, you know, I get the sense that she's lonely, sometimes she hits me up on WhatsApp, and what's the best way to check in on a loved one who, you know, you- you're not quite sure if, if they're going through something? What's just like the, the tip you would give them here?

Myron Quon  08:47

Yeah, that's such a great question. I mean, when it comes to trying to figure out what's going, going on with our elders, or your grandparents, what have you. Um, it really is just about having the right relationship with them and not being afraid to both be persistent and have a conversation. If you, if you're concerned about your elders it really is about saying to them, How are you? And being able to have that ongoing dialogue with them. For some of our elders, you know, they may be really talkative or really quiet. Some might want to be- you know, read, or knit, or cook. Um, they all, they all communicate and express who they are and how they are with us differently, and so you need to know who- You need to have the right relationship with your elder in order to work with them to try and dig in and see if anything's going on, and then you have to again, you have to have had that underlying relationship with them, such that they'll trust you, and want to have that conversation, and might be willing [music in] to seek resources if they need them.

Brian De Los Santos  10:39

Thank you so much, Myron. I appreciate your time.

Myron Quon  10:42

Oh, yeah, no worries. I'm privileged that, you know, this is my job. It's a part of my job to try and increase awareness about important issues, including mental health.

Brian De Los Santos  10:52

That was Myron Quon from the Pacific Asian Counseling Services and the AAPI Equity Alliance. If someone you know needs help, we've got a lot of resources on our website, LAist.com. Also, you can find more links if you subscribe to our newsletter. You can do that at LAist.com/HowToLA. I hope this has been helpful. Thanks for listening. We'll be back tomorrow with that episode about walking meditation we promised you earlier this week. Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes LA a better place to live. [music out]