About the Lotus Project

Funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Lotus Project is a collaboration between the Public Health Institute (PHI) and Richmond Multi-Services (RAMS) that provides trainings and resources of trauma-informed care and prevention for service providers, teachers, and program administrators of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.

About the Workshop

New York contains the highest portion of total Asian Americans and Asian population of any U.S. city, with over 16% to 17% of its population since 2020.  A significant proportion of the AA population is first- and second-generation immigrants, who have suffered various types of traumas before and after migration. The COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of recent anti-immigrant rhetoric also pose greater mental health challenges against the Asian American and Asian communities. However, mental health needs among AAAIs have been under-reported and under-treated due to assessment biases, cultural stigma, and a lack of culturally responsive services and systems of care. The main objective for this workshop is to discuss community needs, obstacles, and innovative approaches of providing trauma-informed and culturally responsive mental health care for Asian American and Asian children and families in the New York metropolitan area, by gathering mental health service providers, researchers, community-based organizations, policy makers and community members.

In the past 4 years, the Lotus project is devoted to address trauma-informed care and prevention and mental health issues in AANHPI communities in collaboration with local service providers, researchers, policy makers, and community members. The Lotus Project has hosted six workshops mainly addressing trauma-informed care for AANHPI children and families (e.g., Afghan communities in Sacramento, CA; AAAI communities in the San Francisco Bay area; AAAI communities including South Asians in the greater Atlanta area; AANHPI communities in Honolulu, HI; AAAIs in the greater Washington D.C. area; and AAAI communities in Boston, MA). We have also hosted a number of webinars (4 times a year) addressing specific topics of mental health issues in AAAI communities (e.g., intergenerational trauma, violence and mental health issues among AAAI women). We have developed a network among workshop and webinar participants and are providing information about culturally competent mental health programs and resource guides. 

Workshop Goals

• To address current issues of community trauma and social environment affecting Asian American/Asians’ mental health and access to care and prevention programs;

• To learn about community-based mental health treatment and prevention programs and enhance collaboration among service providers, researchers, clinicians/school counselors, public health officers, and policy advocates for Asian American/Asians in the greater NYC area;

• To discuss the next steps to strengthen and sustain the collaboration among Asian American/Asian community members;

• To connect attendees to resources of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Featured Panel Topics

• Lived Experiences

• Community Trauma, Safety, and Well-Being

• Mental Health Among Asian American/Asian Youth

Collaborations

In collaboration with Dr. Lisa A. Suzuki, NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, Dr. Kyoko M. Toyama, LaGuardia Community College (CUNY), Ms. Haruka Kokaze, and Ms. Isabel Ching, Hamilton-Madison House in New York City, the Lotus Project aims to work closely with local mental health providers, researchers, and Asian American/Asians-serving organizations to implement this workshop.