Korean Churches for Community Development
KCCD Hosts 2nd and 3rd
Collaborative Meetings
for Faith and Community Leaders on Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Special Thanks to SAMHSA & LA County Department of Mental Health
KCCD's 2nd Collaborative Meeting Participants
On Monday, April 23, 2014, KCCD hosted its 2nd KCCD Faith and Community Collaborative on Mental Health and Substance Abuse meeting for community leaders at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Pastors, government officials, college professors, and people from the community came together to discuss mental health issues and learn more about various existing resources in the community.  In addition, there were active discussions and questions on accessing resources as well as future opportunities to work together. 
KCCD President and CEO Hyepin Im, shared one of KCCD's main goals.  "We really want to make sure that the Asian Christian voice is present in the public sphere. We want to strengthen our faith leader's capacity to advocate and navigate resources for their congregation and community members who are in need especially in the space of mental health and substance abuse as well as foster partnerships that will better serve our communities."
Grace Weltman, President of Communities in Motion, served her role as the facilitator for the collaborative meetings.  Each group was asked to generate types of education that would be useful about mental health for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.  Some of the suggestions raised were:

Awareness 
 Educating and reaching out to second generation Asian American and Pacific Islander pastors.  
 
Exposure 
 Getting in touch with referrals such as with next generation of pastors via Facebook groups. 
 
Joint Effort 
 Building a collaborative effort between churches regardless of denomination 
                                                
Sharing stories and dialogue to raise awareness. 

 

"Rick Warren's struggles and awareness implementation of mental health is an issue. It would be great to have a curriculum in theology class stating its practical realm."

  

  
KCCD's 3rd Collaborative Meeting Participants
 

  

The 3rd Faith and Community Collaborative on Mental Health and Substance Abuse was able to have a successful gathering on May 28, 2014.  Through the breakout groups, the group agreed to focus on two areas - increasing resources and building the advocacy capacity of the Asian American and Pacific Islander faith leaders on mental health and substance abuse. 

Hyepin Im opened the meeting welcoming everyone and discussing the fatal shootings at USC-Santa Barbara by Elliot Rodger, a 22 year old, who was half Asian American.  She said, "I was really saddened to hear of Elliot Rodger's outbreak and rage. I felt that he exemplified two key issues and concerns that we are addressing as an organization.  One is around mental health and second is around Asian American identity.  Elliot whose mom was Asian American had this self-hatred for his Asian identity.  As a society, Asian Americans have yet to be recognized as hip or cool in the U.S.  We don't have a Magic Johnson, or Jennifer Lopez, or President Obama.  Even though great Asian role models exist, they don't have the platform. We hope that through our Faith and Community Collaborative we can be a voice and resource to address both issues."
 
 
Grace Weltman, KCCD board member and consultant, shared one next step that the Collaborative can take at KCCD's National Summit in Washington DC next year. "The purpose of this collaborative is for us to find a way to partner together the mental health needs of the Korean and Asian American communities. One thing that I would recommend for next year around mental health is recommendations and substantive content to be presented in Washington, D.C.  I believe that can be driven from this committee.  We've done a lot of work together, but I would love to have a platform for policy when we go to D.C. next year. I believe this group if it continues meeting can be very powerful in setting that agenda."
  
 
 The participants broke out into  groups to  discuss resources that are needed in their communities and how to advocate for them.  
 
 Each group was asked to present their group discussions and ideas to everyone

Key things that were presented for advocacy were getting testimonies from people who have struggled with mental illnesses in the part and have overcome, and getting involvement from people who are well-known in the church. One group suggested that KCCD produce a resource manual of currently existing faith-based Korean services.
 
 
Purpose Statement: 
The purpose of this collaborative is to create a platform to increase 
resources and build the advocacy capacity of the Asian and Asian Pacific Islander faith-based community within Southern California around mental health and wellness and substance abuse issues and needs.
  
 
If you are interested in future meetings about mental health, please email your contact information to info@kccd3300.org.

 

 
Special thanks to everyone who participated and joined our discussions!

  

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