The Mayor of San Francisco, London N. Breed, proposed increasing funding to expand services to Asian crime victims with limited English proficiency by $500,000.
Since the pandemic began, she said, hate crimes and reported incidents against Asians and Pacific Islanders have increased exponentially.
In 2021 alone, there was a 567 percent increase in reported hate crimes since 2020, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) reported, while the Stop AAPI Hate coalition tracked more than 10,000 hate incidents from March 2020 through September 2021 nationwide.
“As we’ve seen hate crimes unfold in our city… And while accountability is critical in these cases, it’s also become clear from speaking with many in the community that these victims also need mental health support, which can be difficult for people with language barriers. Through this funding, we will be providing support to those who need it, in the way they are most likely to accept it – that’s the key to a victim-centered system,” Breed said.
The proposed $500,000 investment includes $240,000 for Cantonese-language trauma recovery clinical services for Asian victims of serious violent crime or family members of homicide victims with limited English proficiency; as well as for training and technical assistance for community-based providers who help build community capacity for these types of services.
In addition, $160,000 will help expand Cantonese-language treatment with a mental health service provider for Asian crime victims with limited English proficiency who need mental health support as part of their recovery.
The budget will also help build capacity in community organizations to provide such services, as crimes against Asian seniors have increased.
Of the total budget, $59,000 is proposed to be allocated to increasing companion services for seniors throughout the city and to help people with severe disabilities get to and from their homes for medical appointments, as well as with social interaction to break their isolation.
“With these investments from the Mayor’s Office, more Asian crime victims will have early access to culturally competent mental health services,” said Christina Shea, Deputy Director/Director of Clinical Services at RAMS, Inc.
“This is a crucial piece to beginning recovery and healing – having a means to process their feelings of grief, shock, fear and anxiety, which could lead to more complex issues down the road if not supported from the start,” she added.
Last year, the city invested more than $3.2 million in comprehensive victim services for the API community and created a Community Liaison Unit (CLU) within the SFPD to ensure cultural and linguistic competency in reaching and serving victims.
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