Specifications include, but are not limited to: Developing and implementing the 1000 Cranes - Healing Through Arts and Culture Project. This project will target the API community County-wide, with a specific emphasis on the Japanese community throughout Los Angeles County by having API community members unite to fold 1000 origami cranes as symbol for wishing someone’s emotional healing. The Japanese, redcrowned crane is an iconic bird that symbolizes many contexts such as resilience, recovery, and longevity giving the 1000 origami cranes a spiritual approach to encourage wellness in mental health. API communities continue to experience systemic inequities in mental health services and resources. In addition, over 30% of API Americans are not fluent in English. There is a significant gap in accessing treatment due to the lack of bilingual and bicultural mental health care providers. Cultural stigma and lack of understanding mental illness can lead to neglect and denial of mental health treatment in particular among the 1st generation API communities. In API’s country of origin, often stigma, shame, and “losing face” will affect the whole family and result in being shunned by society. Families will go to great lengths to protect their reputation including isolation or suicide. This project aims to address the stigma, lack of knowledge, and cultural barriers that prevent many API community members from accessing quality mental health services in a timely manner.
