The Following is the official statement from NAAPIMHA
on the Virginia Tech Tragedy
It is with profound sadness that the National Asian
American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association, NAAPIMHA, joins
the rest of the country in sending its condolences to the students,
families and the greater Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University community. The emotional scars of this tragic event will
be felt for years to come and it is our greatest wish that events
such as this will never happen again. May those whose lives were
personally affected by this tragedy find the support and care they
need in the weeks and months to come. This is first and foremost
a mental health issue but has sadly and inadvertently impacted the
AAPI community. NAAPIMHA is working closely with others both in
the AAPI and mental health communities to find ways to heal the
wounds. Over the next few weeks and months we will be posting resources
and materials to help address this critical issue. Our hearts and
prayers are with all those who have lost loved ones and to those
who have in other ways been personally impacted.
Contact:
D.J. Ida, Ph.D.
Executive Director
NAAPIMHA
National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association
1215 19th St. Suite A
Denver, CO 80202
303-298-7910
303-298-8180 fax
720-939-6494 cell
For mental health materials in Asian American languages
and for additional information, please go to www.naapimha.org
Want to Help?
NAAPIMHA is also a member of NCAPA, the National Council
on Asian Pacific Americans, which is a collaboration of AAPI serving
organizations that represent a wide range of issues impacting AAPIs.
Through the leadership of NCAPA, the other member organizations
have been the voice of AAPIs at the national level. I would like
to now connect the dots between their critical work and those of
us in the mental health arena. The Chair of NCAPA is Lisa Hasegawa
who is also Exeutive Director of NCAPACD in Washington DC. The contact
information for NCAPA is National Council of Asian Pacific Americans,
1001 Connecticut Avenue, Northwest, Suite 730, Washington, District
of Columbia 20036. (P) (202) 223-2442, (F) (202) 223-4144 and visit
their website is http://ncapaonline.org.
Lisa can be reached at lisa@nationalccpacd.org
Taking things one step at a time I would like to request
the following:
1. please let me know if you are available to provide mental health
services if it is requested by the community -
2. identify resources that address trauma and disaster response
3. any materials that are translated into different Asian languages
4. specific issues you feel need to be addressed in light of the
current situation
5. let us know if you are willing to share/disseminate information
coming from NCAPA and other sources
