Statement on Anti-Asian Racial Violence and Its Mental Health Impacts

In the aftermath of Tuesday’s mass shooting in Atlanta in which six Asian women were murdered, The Brookline Center shares the sadness, grief, and outrage of our Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) clients, staff, partners, supporters, and community.

As we pass the one-year mark of the COVID pandemic, we must speak out against the surge of harassment and hatred that have been unleashed against Asians and Asian Americans across our nation, even in our own community, since last March. The Atlanta killings are the latest incident of anti-Asian racism, misogyny, and white supremacy, present in our country from its earliest days, that have caused the collective trauma of generations of Asian Americans. We stand in solidarity with the AAPI community in denouncing the xenophobic rhetoric and targeted attacks we have witnessed this year.

As community mental health providers, we reaffirm that racism is a public health crisis and that racial trauma is real. Experiences with racial discrimination can have significant negative mental health outcomes, independent of socioeconomic status. We are committed to supporting AAPI and other BIPOC members of our community who are experiencing emotional distress, daily fears about their safety and wellbeing, and the psychological impacts of racism.

The Brookline Center is here to help, providing access to care and services for members of our community struggling with these experiences or with their mental health more broadly. Together, we can build the strength to confront these atrocities and the resilience to heal from their effects.

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