By Molly Burke, Bay City News.
Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, and others active in addressing hate against the Asian and Pacific Islander community celebrated a victory Wednesday after the California Department of Social Services approved the distribution of $30.3 million to local nonprofits fighting AAPI hate.
The money, which will be distributed in grants to organizations that provide victim services and strengthen violence prevention programs, is part of the $166.5 million budget for Asians and Pacific Islanders that was approved in California last year.
Ting, Assembly budget chairman, heralded the legislation as one of the largest appropriations bills to address the increase in hate crimes against the AAPI community seen during the pandemic in California and across the United States.
He further noted that during the pandemic there was an increase in hate and bias crimes in many communities, with anti-AAPI bias incidents increasing by more than 177 percent from 2020 to 2021, according to a report by the California Attorney General's Office.
"We are very excited to see the grants go to many of our larger community organizations," Ting said. "We are also very proud of the coalitions that have come together and are working to fight AAPI hate."
For community organizations, the grants represent a major step toward addressing the problems that the AAPI community has faced for decades.
"These are long-standing problems in our community, not only in terms of hate incidents, but also in the lack of attention," said Karthick Ramakrishnan, chairman of the state Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs Commission.
The money is expected to not only help survivors of hate crimes and the AAPI community at large, but also inform the government on how to better address issues facing the community, Ramakrishnan said.
Also, he said, the organizations receiving the grants are expected to use the funds for mental health and wellness resources, legal assistance, help navigating government agencies and language accessibility.
"Ultimately, what we are all looking for is to create California as a place of belonging and not a state of hate," Ramakrishnan stressed.
Cynthia Choi, co-executive director of the group Chinese for Affirmative Action, which is part of the Coalition for Community Safety and Justice in San Francisco, stressed that the grants will be useful in addressing much more than hate crimes.
In that regard, he pointed out that equity issues ranging from language barriers to affordable housing are linked, and these grants help address many issues at once.
"I cannot overstate that this is an example of good governance," Choi said.
For her part, Nikki Dominguez, policy director for Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Los Angeles, expressed gratitude for the grants going to existing organizations that have already gained trust within the AAPI communities.
Dominguez clarified that the work to be facilitated with the $30.3 million will be community-driven and victim-centered, given the emphasis on organizations that are already embedded in the communities.
"Our work is not over and we need to continue to raise awareness of these issues, but also engage partners and community members, moving them to be active members in creating safer communities throughout our state," he referred.
For some organizations, this money will allow more resources to be allocated and focused on mental health services for those in the AAPI community.
Mary Ann Foo, founder and executive director of the Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance of Orange County, said requests for mental health assistance within the AAPI community nearly tripled during the pandemic.
He further explained that the pandemic provoked a surge in hatred of AAPI, which reminded him of the hatred he faced growing up during the 1980s.
"When I was a child, I was afraid to walk to school," Foo said, an experience she described as common in the AAPI community.
Foo said his organization will use the funds to provide vital mental health services to those who need the resources.
"They have a trauma that has been there for many, many years," he specified.
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