Resources to Support Asian CommunitiesIn 2020, we shared a statement and a list of resources in solidarity with Indigenous and Black communities across Turtle Island. The need to challenge power structures has not changed. Here, we are building on what we've shared with a list of resources specific to Asian communities. We hope this is a helpful tool for you and your continued efforts to show up in your communities. This work is difficult, and the path is long, so please remember that taking care is an essential part of this work. We've also included some mental health resources.
This list focuses on Turtle Island (Canada & US), and it's not exhaustive. Please be in touch with us at hello@choamagazine.com if there's anything you'd like to be see added. Organizations to Follow & DonateAsian Americans Advancing Justice
An organization that focuses on advancing civil and human rights for Asian Americans. The Asian American Advocacy Fund | @asianaaf A Georgia-based grassroots welfare organization dedicated to building a politically-conscious, engaged, and progressive Asian Americans. Asian American Feminist Collective An organization that engaged in intersectional feminist politics. Through public events and resources, they seek to provide spaces for identity exploration, political education, community building, and advocacy. The Asian Canadian Labour Alliance A grassroots collective of community and labour activists. Butterfly | @butterflycsw A Toronto-based Asian and migrant sex support network. The organization is founded upon the belief that sex workers are entitled to respect and basic human rights. The Disability Visibility Project An online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture, founded by Alice Wong, a disabled activist, media maker, and consultant in partnership with StoryCorps. Heart of Dinner | @heartofdinner An initiative founded by Yin Chang and Moonlynn Tsai to fight food security and isolation experienced by Asian American seniors. Monsoon Asians and Pacific Islanders in Solidarity | @monsoon_iowa An Iowa-based organization that serves victims/survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking in Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Red Canary Song | @redcanarysong A NYC-based grassroots collective of Asian and migrant sex workers. They believe that full decriminalization is necessary for labour organizing and anti-trafficking. #SexWorkIsWork SWAN | @swan_vancouver A Vancouver-based organization that provides culturally-specialized support and advocacy to im/migrant women engaged in indoor sex work. Their mission is to change the social and political narratives that racialize, misdefine, exclude, and otherwise harm these communities of women. BooksBefore I Was a Critic, I Was a Human Being by Amy Fung
Essays that look at Canada's mythologies of multiculturalism, settler colonialism, and identity through the lens of a national art critic. Beyond the Shadow of Camptown by Ji-Yeon Yuh Based on extensive oral interviews and archival research, this book tells the stories of women who immigrated to the US as wives of American soldiers in the 1950s and their experiences with US military camptowns, prostitution, and intercultural family dynamics. Fox Girl Reader's Guide by Nora Okja Keller Set in a military camptown in 1960s Korea, the book looks at the complex history between Korea and the US, following the lives of mixed-race teenagers and their struggles through poverty, alienation, and abandonment. Haunting the Korean Diaspora by Grace M. Cho Explores the repressed history of emotional and physical violence between the US and Korea, including the sexual relationships between Korean women and American soldiers. I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita Stories of activists, labourers, students, provocateurs, and revolutionaries that retell the 1960s-70s Asian American movement in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Making of Asian America: A History by Erika Lee Explores the history from the arrival of the first Asians in the US to the present-day. Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong Blends memoir, cultural criticism, and history to expose the truths about racialized consciousness in America. Obasan by Joy Kogawa Semi-autobiographical novel chronicling Canada's internment and persecution of Japanese Canadians during WWII from the eyes of a young child. Other Resources"Examining Oppression in the Asian Community" based on Professor Iris M. Young's Five Faces of Oppression Model, on @studiotao
Guide to Bystander Intervention (Hollaback!, Center for Urban Pedagogy) AAPI Women Lead | @aapiwomenlead An organization that aims to strengthen the progressive political and social platforms of Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the US through Cold Tea Collective | @coldteacollective A new media platform that shares stories, perspectives, and experiences of North American Asian millennials Project 1907 A Vancouver-based grassroots group made up of Asian women with the aim to elevate Asian voices that are underrepresented and undervalued in mainstream political, social, and cultural discourse. Mental Health ResourcesCanada
Asian Mental Health Collective (AMHC) | @asianmentalhealthcollective
Healing in Colour An initiative started with the aim to support individual and collective healing for BIPOC. Hong Fook Mental Health Association | @hfyouthfam Focus on addressing mental health concerns of the Cambodian, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese communities. Mental health services covering the spectrum of "promoting wellness" to "managing illness," e.g. clinical service, integrated recovery program, family support program. Inclusive Therapists Directory of therapists with various services, e.g. individual therapy, family therapy, therapy for youth, group theory, non-profit services, medication management (Alberta, BC, Ontario) Love Toronto (services in Korean) 주요 사역/Programs & Services: 의료보험 없는 한인들을 위한 진료서비스 (Medical consultation service for Non-OHIP patients), 정신건강상담 서비스 (Psychotherapeutic counselling referral service), 법률 상담 서비스 (Legal counselling referral service) Psychology Today United States
Asian American Health Initiative Mental health resources & toolkits in multiple languages, including English and Korean Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) | @acrsnews Services, e.g. behavioural health & wellness, recovery services, aging services Asian Mental Health Collective (AMHC) | @asianmentalhealthcollectiveBridges Therapist Directory | @bridgesmentalhealth Stigma-free hub for Asians, Pacific Islanders, South Asian Americans (APISA) living in the greater New York City area Full Well Therapy Therapy tips, podcasts, and consultations specifically around Asian American mental health and anxiety Inclusive Therapists Directory of therapists with various services, e.g. individual therapy, family therapy, therapy for youth, group theory, non-profit services, medication management National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA) List of mental health/behavioural services for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders National Deaf Therapy | @nationaldeaftherapy Therapy sessions, support circles, and community training in ASL Online
Asian Mental Health Project (AMHP) | @asianmentalhealthproject Recent programming includes Healing spaces, Peer listening spaces, and ‘Stay in, Check in’ weekly series Ji-Youn Kim, justice-oriented counsellor | @itsjiyounkim Creating content to help process joy and rage through justice- oriented coaching and counselling Brown Girl Therapy | @browngirltherapy Mental health community for children of immigrants Asians Do Therapy "Reducing Stigma & Increasing Accessibility" Information on commonly asked questions and resources about therapy |
