API Connections

CHAA believes health and wellness are vital to community development and social justice, and is committed to an ongoing effort to reduce health disparities impacting Asian, South Asian and Pacific Islanders. The Asian and Pacific Islander Connections program (API Connections) is one of five prevention and early intervention (PEI) projects funded by the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) (Prop 63) through Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services for Prevention & Early Intervention programming, API Connections is co-led by CHAA and ACMHS.

API Connections aims to promote wellness in API communities living in Alameda County and help overcome stigma through culturally competent outreach. By employing culturally-based outreach, education, mental health consultation and early intervention services in API communities, CHAA expects the program to achieve:

Improved access to culturally competent prevention and early intervention mental health services
Reduced stigma attached to mental health services
Strengthened API communities' knowledge of wellness practices and resources

CHAA's focus in the project is initiating and supporting capacity building with the following unserved communities:

Bhutanese-Nepali refugee
Burma refugee (including Karen, Karenni, and other refugees from Burma living in Oakland)
Mongolian
Pacific Islander
Sri Lankan-Tamil refugee
Thai
Tibetan
Sri Lankan

Asian Community Mental Health Services (ACMHS) will reach out to underserved API communities, including:

Cambodian
Chinese
Filipino
Korean
Lao
Mien
Vietnamese

Services and Supports provided through API Connections include:

Outreach and Education

Workshops on mental health and wellness topics
Support groups for adults and youth
Educational materials in Asian and Pacific Islander languages

Mental Health Consultation

Training for partner agency staff and community leaders
On-site consultation and wellness screening

Early Intervention

Short-term counseling (1-3 months) for children, youth and adults
Connection to community resources

All services and supports for API Connections are provided free of charge

Languages available from API Connections staff include Bangla, Burmese, Cantonese, Hindi, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Mandarin, Mongolian, Rakhaing, Tagalog, Thai,

Tibetan, Tongan, and Vietnamese.

Our Partners include:

Asian Health Services

Bhutanese American Community Center (BACC)

Bhutanese Community Support Organization in America (BASCO)

Burma Refugee Family Network (BRFN)

Burmese Youth Association (BYA)

East Bay Refugee Forum

Ger Youth Center

Harbor House Ministries

Karen Culture and Tradition Committee (KCTC)

Mongolian Students Non-Profit Organization in America