White House to host inaugural AANHPI Mental Health Summit
By Carl Samson
July 19, 2023
The White House on Thursday will host the first-ever Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Mental Health Summit, the Biden-Harris administration’s largest event yet focused on delivering mental health care for AANHPI communities.
Background: The summit is co-hosted by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI), the U.S Department of Health and Human Services and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It is the direct result of a May 2022 recommendation from the President’s Advisory Commission on AA and NHPIs.
The event also follows the release of the first-ever national strategy to advance equity and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities in January. Additionally, it builds on a breakout convening hosted by WHIAANHPI and the White House in May focused on mental health.
What to expect: The summit will gather administration leaders, mental health professionals, federal policymakers, community organizations and people with lived experiences to “collectively tackle the growing need for access to quality, culturally competent medical care, including mental health services for AA and NHPI individuals,” according to a White House press invite. Multiple issue-specific sessions will encourage the identification of solutions to persistent and emerging challenges.
The bigger picture: The event will take place in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a concurrent trend of anti-Asian hate and mass shootings that have plagued Asian American communities and the rest of the country. So far, only the state of California has reported a drop in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2022.
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