One of the Bay Area’s largest Asian American advocacy groups held an unusual summit in Oakland.
The Asia Pacific Fund’s AANHPI Summit was held at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. The summit brought together providers, agencies, and community groups who share many common goals but don’t necessarily convene in the same room.
The tone was set by the opening remarks of AANHPI Summit 2024. This was not your usual type of gathering to discuss the serious topic of “Recovering and Redefining Mental Health.”
“The purpose of the summit is to trust that our community has the answers to our toughest problems. We just need to ask and listen. That’s what today is about,” said APF chair Carolyn Wang Kong.
Comedian and Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama Christina Wong tossed out stuffed comfort cats and invited the audience to talk about what makes them feel healthy, getting the crowd laughing and thinking.
“I’m getting better and learning how to survive every day. It’s not as simple as just seeing a therapist for an hour. Therapists aren’t one size fits all,” she said.
That’s why Kaiser clinical psychologist Joan Lamb said the summit is so important.
“We get to talk about some of the tough challenges that come up in our community and talk about different ways to address them on a macro level, so it’s a really exciting time,” she said.
There were some fascinating panels that ranged from domestic issues to systemic racism and violence, and he emphasized that “we’re in the same situation.”
Robert Handa tells the full story in the video above.
