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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Sarah Fajardo, Senior Director of Community Engagement and Advocacy at Korean American Family Service Center
7:26:34
ยท
121 sec
Sarah Fajardo from the Korean American Family Service Center (KAFSC) advocates for increased funding to expand mental health services for Asian American and immigrant communities. She emphasizes the need for culturally competent and linguistically appropriate services to address barriers faced by their clients.
- KAFSC is part of the Asian American Mental Health Roundtable and focuses on empowering immigrant survivors of gender-based violence.
- Fajardo highlights KAFSC's Haebok program, which uses art, education, and body movement to help process racial and gender trauma.
- She acknowledges DOHMH's efforts to expand mental health care for the AAPI community and calls for further investment in partnerships with organizations like KAFSC.
Sarah Fajardo
7:26:34
Thank you.
7:26:36
Thank you for your courtesy and thank you to the chairs.
7:26:39
I really appreciate you staying with us through this long day.
7:26:42
My name is Sarah Fajardo.
7:26:44
I am the senior director of community engagement and advocacy for the Korean American Family Service Center.
7:26:50
KAFSC is part of the Asian American Mental Health Roundtable, and we work to empower immigrant survivors of gender based violence with a focus on culturally and linguistically competent services.
7:27:02
Our clients face barriers to accessing the support they need due to language, culture, and stigma, particularly in times of mental health crises.
7:27:10
I want to express KFSC's strong support of dedicated specific targeted funding to expand mental health services capacities for organizations like ours and other members of the roundtable.
7:27:23
Mental health crises must be met with care, compassion, language access, and cultural understanding, and programs like ours require additional support.
7:27:31
For Korean Americans and other Asian immigrant populations, the success of mental health programs requires significant investments in cultural competence and language.
7:27:41
KFSC offers clinical and nonclinical modalities.
7:27:45
For example, we, include a Haebok or meaning revival in Korean program that includes art, education, and body movement workshops to help process racial and gender trauma.
7:27:57
Participants build community, embark on personal healing journeys, and create public art displays.
7:28:03
This initiative aims to foster renewal and reemergence for those affected by anti Asian hate and misogyny and welcomes survivors of gender based violence.
7:28:12
You've heard a lot of testimony today, so just I wanna thank quickly, DOHMH for their efforts to expand mental health care for NYC's AAPI community, including the September 2024 RFI.
Fiodhna O'Grady
7:28:25
We hope
Sarah Fajardo
7:28:25
to see the city invest further in these life saving services through dedicated funding and partner with organizations like ours to create a more inclusive responsive mental health care system.
7:28:35
Thank you.