New York’s first lady Chirlene Macray is facing accusations she is ignoring the mental health needs of Asian Americans, reports the NY Post.
Macray runs the city’s Thrive Mental Health Initiative. She launched the program in 2015 with a pledge of serving underrepresented communities. The Post reports there are only three mental health clinics in the city and each has a waiting list of one month. Yet none are funded by Thrive.
“We feel like we’re in a room where we’re screaming and no one’s hearing us,” Joo Han, deputy director of the Asian American Federation, said to The Post.
Han says his community is falling victim to the model minority myth.
According to the Center for American Progress, 7.7 million Asian Americans report poor mental health status. That’s 37 percent of Asian American adults.
Asian Americans are three times less likely to seek mental health treatment than Whites.
A Thrive spokeswoman says the program is seeking new ways to engage different communities, including Asian Americans.
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RE: NY Accused of Ignoring Mental Health of Asian Americans: Should be obvious by now her and her husband have some vendetta against Asians.