Mental Health Acceptance Month continues on Living808 with a visit from the AANHPI ʻOhana Center of Excellence. ʻOhana CoE will take a strength-based approach in addressing systemic issues that affect the mental health of NHPI and Asian communities. They serve as a central location for technical assistance and offer live and recorded in-language and culturally appropriate presentations on behavioral health data, community toolkits, and tailored workshops for Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Asian American communities.

Lilinoe Kauahikaua the program Manager, Papa Ola Lōkahi joined John Veneri on the show to talk more about it.

“As the Pacific is not monolithic, it is vital that we provide and support intersectional approaches that highlight the different indigenous/native ways of knowing and frameworks. We will address data and programmatic aggregation and lift the many voices of NHPI communities to assure equitable representation in discussions about health and well-being, especially when addressing substance use and mental health issues.  The ʻOhana CoE is a partnership between the State of Hawai‘i Department of Health – Adult Mental Health Division (DOH-AMHD), Papa Ola Lōkahi (POL), San José State University (SJSU), and California State University East Bay (CSU-EB) through a 5-year grant from the federal Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA). We want this project to be led by the voice of community, providing healing resources that are asked for by the community, that are culturally resonant with the populations we serve, and acknowledge the diversity and unique needs of our populations in different regions from Hawaiʻi, to the US Associated Pacific Islands, and across the Continental US.”   

For more information about the upcoming launch events and Tuesday, May23rd and Wednesday, May 24th, visit the following web and social media sites.

Website: https://aanhpi-ohana.org

Social media

https://facebook.com/ohanacenterofexcellence

https://instagram.com/ohanacenterofexcellence

https://twitter.com/ohanaexcellence