SIPA Helps Stop the Hate
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They and their staff of three therapists and three social work interns have individual caseloads of 8 to 15 clients, though SIPA has the capacity to serve many more. Gana suspects there are victims of anti-Asian Hate in the community who suffer in silence based on a 2020 Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology study that identifies Filipinos as the population that’s least likely to seek professional help during a psychological crisis.
“SIPA defines anti-Asian hate as racism toward people who identify as members of an AAPI community,” says Gana.
Acts of outright aggression like slashing faces provoke outrage, but Gana says, “There are other ways people make us feel ‘less than’ because of who we are.”
Gana can relate to victims of anti-Asian hate. “I also experienced it myself at the beginning of the pandemic when I was at a Southeast Asian conference on the campus of UCLA.” They told of an incident of someone scribbling “Covid-19” over a photo of them and other participants.
It’s Easy to Inflict Emotional Pain
They point out that anti-Asian hate also encompasses microaggressions, such as cruel remarks concerning a person’s dark skin that are emblematic of the colonial mentality.
“Microaggressions may seem negligible on the surface, but they are still endangering by feeding into the pyramid of hate.” They adds, “Insulting comments and hyper-bullying on anonymous chats and other social media adversely affect us because we all have feelings and emotions.”
Furthermore, Gana cites a 2020 Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology article that calls out Filipinos as the population that’s least likely to seek professional help during a psychological crisis.
“I take a trauma-informed approach to helping victims of anti-Asian hate.” Asked why, Gana answers, “They often suffer from acute post trauma stress disorder that’s triggered whenever they feel unsafe. There are so many ways trauma manifests itself. Victims are wary of everyone they interact with and are prone to depression and spiral thinking. It’s frequently difficult for them to walk down a street.”
As a counselor for over 14 years, Gana knows the past suicide hotline phone number by heart but is glad that at-risk individuals can more easily access the three-digit number: 988.
‘Stop the Hate’
SIPA is located in historic Filipinotown at 3200 West Temple Street in Los Angeles. The organization serves residents of Service Planning Area (SPA) 4 as delineated by the Los Angeles County of Public Health, but also assists clients in other Los Angeles SPAs. Telehealth enables SIPA to facilitate support groups in the Bay Area and other parts of the U.S.
An increase in violence against ethnic groups, religious minorities, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ individuals led to a second round of funding by the California Department of Social Services in 2023 of “organizations that are serving populations who have experienced or are at greatest risk of experiencing incidents of bias and hate crimes.” Consequently, SIPA was among the organizations that received a “Stop the Hate” (STH) grant.
Walk-in clients are common; as are referrals from the Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, child mental health agencies, legal aid and similar organizations. BIPOC members and Caucasians can also receive SIPA services. SIPA’s Mental Health Department has staff who are fluent in multiple Filipino dialects and Spanish.
Gana bemoans the emotional scars that endure after a hate incident as they acknowledges, “People can’t change the past. Much depends on a person’s resilience to overcome a traumatic experience. Stress management techniques are effective.”
Bluntly, Gana states, “I do not believe survivors have to forgive. What is most important is for survivors to be able to safely process the trauma and to understand what is happening to their body, mind, and spirit is caused by their pain and misery. While forgiveness might be an end-goal for some,” they reiterates, “it is not absolutely necessary in one’s healing journey.
“Everyone heals and seeks justice differently. With a holistic and trauma-informed approach, our therapists help survivors by meeting them where they are in the course of their recovery of a sense of safety and maximize their wellbeing.”
SIPA Programs
The SIPA Short Term Counseling Program is available to adult victims of anti-Asian hatred. Gana describes the program as follows: “Participants are assigned a therapist who helps develop an individual treatment plan with one-on-one counseling lasting ten to twelve weeks.”
SIPA offers group workshops that promote healing through Soundbath exercises and meditation. Yoga classes incorporate movement into the healing process.
In conventional thinking, first aid treats physical injuries. This limited perception of first aid overlooks traumatic experiences that may inflict lifelong psychological pain. “Mental Health First Aid Training teaches participants how to assess a situation for potential violence, how to listen attentively to persons experiencing a crisis, and how to give them reassuring information and advice to speak to a counselor, therapist or doctor.”
For less critical cases, Gana adds, “Mental Health First Aid training also covers self-help strategies like listening to music and writing.”
Through funding from STH, SIPA assists high school and college prevention programs within the Youth Leadership Institute. The Institute puts on the annual AAPI Solidarity Conference to take place in late April or early May. The conference features workshops provided by the nonprofit EPIC (Empowering Pacific Islander Communities) on the history of colonization and sovereignty movements. Instructors from Pamana Kali teach Filipino Kali for self-defense.
SIPA staff realize that providing clients with reassurance is paramount. An open-door policy ensures that nobody is turned away from a program.
Efforts to tackle the root cause of anti-Asian hate mustn’t overlook the persons who are prone to commit these violent acts. Gana says, “I support a restorative justice approach over punitive actions because perpetrators of hate crimes are usually experiencing personal trauma, anxiety, or depression. They need rehabilitation. We have to think holistically and decide whether we’re a culture that dismisses folks or are we one that fosters a culture of love and understanding to form relationships that oppose hate and violence?”
Gana and SIPA are pooling their abilities to extend this new era that’s characterized by a collective consciousness that abhors intolerance, appreciates different perspectives, and embraces empathy.
Positively Filipino has a special relationship with California’s Stop the Hate campaign to eliminate violence against Asian-Americans. Anthony Maddela is interviewing professionals like Eddy at SIPA, who have developed and implemented innovative programs to help eliminate the specter of anti-AAPI hatred. Anthony also has a writer’s interest in individuals with special insights into this growing risk to the lives of Asian-Americans.
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