California vs Hate has become the support hotline for victims of hate acts, connecting hate targets with culturally competent resources and care coordination services, including mental health support, legal help, financial support and more .
The California vs Hate program was launched by the California Department of Civil Rights in May 2023 as a multilingual hotline, offering service in 15 different languages, or by phone in 200 languages between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; Confidential services are free to everyone, regardless of immigration status, and reports can be made anonymously.
Chantel Bermudez, senior manager of CA's anti-Hate resource line, explained during a briefing held by Ethnic Media Services that this is a system that supports and provides services to people who have suffered or who have witnessed acts of hate or hate crimes, where he specified that the goals are to identify options and connect people to the appropriate organizations that provide them with support.
You have the option of filing a report anonymously, so your identity will not be violated. It is important to say that the services will be available regardless of immigration status, since it is known that many remain silent for fear of being expelled from the country. However, people's rights are equal, no one should be violated.
Almost a year after maintaining the program, a record has been kept from May 2023 until February 29, having a total of 823 reports, which have been followed up and the necessary support provided.
James Williams, director of Community Organizations for the California Department of Civil Rights, explained in general terms what the complaint process is like, where the case of violence is basically brought to a weekly meeting with the Department of Civil Rights and approached to the state agencies and organizations, where the path that will be carried out and the way in which the victim will be helped is determined.
The goal, he said, is to bring people closer to the necessary resources to accompany their process, guide them legally and emotionally, show them that they are not alone and that their battle is also that of many other people.
?All agencies need to work hand in hand to help people who need support?, commented James Williams.
Becky Monroe, civil rights expert, spoke about the challenges they face, because people fear or do not want to file their report, so they seek to listen to organizations so that people trust and thus expand to more organizations.
Yolie Anguiano, director of Anti-Hate Programs at 211LA, commented that the line is a resource to support people who are victims of an act of hate, where there are 15 call centers and organizations that provide support to victims. .
?Our goal is to help communities and individuals. We are working on generating complete reports with the appropriate words to find the origin and help identify acts of hate. It is important to mention that you can report as an anonymous person or witness.?, he stressed Yolie Anguiano.
Cynthia Choi, co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, working to stop hate in the AAPI community, implementing new strategies that are based on prevention, under the current panorama, it is only generating.
?Within the eye of the AAPI community, we receive incidents to find patterns and thus make recommendations?, explained Cynthia Choi.
Language is another key factor, with 29 percent of Californians identifying as limited English speakers, making it essential for this platform to be available in more languages.
Connie Alexander-Boaitey, president of the Santa Barbara NAACP, explained that hate rates have been increasing every year, in 2021 alone it increased 27 percent, and in the case of the black and LGBT community, 29 percent. .
Adding that many Afro-descendant families leave California due to various community issues, for example racism, lack of economic support and spaces for their development.
Ariel Bustamante, leader and panelist of the American Bar Association RISE, expert on issues of freedom and gender rights, explained that he seeks to protect young people and the entire LGTBQ community, pointing out the benefit of having this support center, which has been very important to resolve hate incidents, since it is known that this community is very vulnerable to this type of attacks.
The California vs Hate report showed that sexual orientation is the third most present reason in the count and gender identity is the fourth.
Bustamante added that there have been cases of suicides and deaths in the LGTBQ+ community, since the victims are constant, so it was necessary to have tools that support and prevent these types of consequences.
The experts concluded that having a line to give a voice to victims of hate is only the first step to changing a society hurt by racism, inequality, indifference and hatred.
If you would like to report an act of hate, you can speak with a care coordinator Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm PST by calling 1-833-8NO-HATE.
This publication was supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the CaliFornia State Library.
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