PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Amber Song, Senior Program Coordinator at Asian American Federation
1:07:19
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134 sec
Amber Song from the Asian American Federation testified on the mental health needs of the Asian American community in New York, particularly in response to violent incidents. She highlighted the barriers to mental health care faced by Asian Americans and provided recommendations for improving Introduction 1103.
- Emphasized the need for culturally and linguistically competent mental health resources
- Urged the city to work directly with and fund Asian-led, Asian-serving community-based organizations
- Called for flexible funding to build capacity and services within Asian-serving organizations
Amber Song
1:07:19
Is this on?
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Okay.
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Okay.
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Thank you, Committee Chair Linda Lee, for the opportunity to provide testimony.
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I'm Amber Song, senior program coordinator at the Asian American Federation, and I'm testifying today in partnership with members of our Asian American mental health roundtable.
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Tragedies like the murder of Christina Yuna Lee, Michelle Goh, Win Rosario, and many others have left New York Asian communities reeling and fearful.
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Without the proper mental health and social support, our community, who already face barriers to accessing care, like stigma, language access concerns, and high rates of poverty, are vulnerable to experiencing worsened mental health treatment, worsened mental health after violent and traumatic incidents.
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In fact, Asian Americans are less likely to get mental health treatment with only 21% of Asian adults receiving mental health treatment when compared to other racial and ethnic groups, leaving our communities at risk until a crisis hits.
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While introduction 1103 aims to connect affected communities to mental health resources, we found that the needs of the Asian community are not met through this legislation.
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We urge that the city council, as well as members of the relevant committees and city agencies, to consider the following recommendations.
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1, ensure that the cultural and linguistic needs of the Asian community are met when resources are provided in the aftermath of a traumatic or violent incident by
UNKNOWN
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translating materials with cultural nuance and recommending mental health services that are
Amber Song
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culturally relevant to the police department prioritize and work directly with Asian led, Asian serving CBOs, such as our roundtable partners, and provide adequate funding to do so as DOHMH alone cannot provide the needed culturally and linguistically competent mental health and social service resources to the Asian community.
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And 3, ensure the city invests in Asian led, Asian serving CBOs so that they can continue to provide culturally competent and linguistically competent care by allocating flexible funding to build their capacity and services to retain and develop their workforce, to do outreach, and to continue to provide life changing services to the Asian community.
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AAF will continue to do our part to meet the needs of the Asian community with our roundtable partners.
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Thank you for the opportunity to testify on this crucial matter.
