On Sept. 16, Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) hosted “Together: A Community Conference on Mental Health and Well-Being” at the Japanese American National Museum.
Approximately 150 people attended the day-long conference dedicated to reducing stigma and opening up the conversation about mental health in the Asian American community. Uniquely, the conference addressed mental health issues across generations and included workshops for both English-speaking and Japanese-speaking populations.
This is LTSC’s second mental health conference, following its first conference back in 2019. Since then, the stress of the COVID pandemic and prevalence of anti-Asian hate crimes have contributed to a rise in mental health issues and suicide in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community. LTSC has been working diligently to build a network of mental health experts and community advocates to increase support for Asian American mental health.
“In response to the post-pandemic mental health crisis that we’re seeing across all age groups, our social services department decided to host a mental health conference this year,” said Margaret Shimada, LTSC’s director of service programs. “Asian Americans are the least likely to access mental health services compared to any other racial or ethnic group. Culturally, we tend to mask or minimize those feelings for fear of being judged.
“Open conversations and sharing stories are important for reducing stigma and normalizing mental health, which is why community gatherings such as LTSC’s Together Conference are so important.”
“Together” opened with an intergenerational panel that discussed the state of…
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