Roundtable: HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra along with Rep. Judy Chu address mental health with civic leaders

Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra came home Thursday to a city still reeling from a mass shooting last month inside a Monterey Park dance hall.

Becerra, who served 12 terms in the House of Representatives, said he and his wife, Carolina, maintain their home in Monterey Park.

“I may be far away but this hit like home,” he said of the tragedy that killed 11. “It gets to a point when we do these moments of silence and it's almost an empty feeling because we can do so much more. I'm here to listen.”

Becerra and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, invited 15 local politicians and community leaders to discuss increasing the accessibility of mental health and behavioral health care for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI).

The roundtable, held at the Service Club House in Monterey Park, was meant to explore ways to get AAPI communities

to “take their mental health as seriously as their physical health,” Chu said.

Panelists included L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis; Monterey Park Mayor Jose Sanchez; Assemblymember Mike Fong, DMonterey Park; Glenn Masuda, senior clinical director of the Asian Pacific Family Center; and Cindy Montoya, California Survivor Lead of Moms Demand Action.

Juily Phun's aunt, Muoi Ung, 67, was one of the victims of the Monterey Park shooting. She said the meeting was a good start to increase coordination between government and community and staff mental

health forces with workers who are culturally sensitive.

“I grew up loving this place, seeing beautiful AAPI women as leaders,” Phun said, nodding at Chu. “It's not easy to serve our community. We are very complicated. What does help look like? Will I see someone who looks like me when I do reach out?”

Solis agreed, advocating for more workers who are culturally and linguistically confident, helping small-business owners who suffered from loss of sales during the Lunar New Year, and helping victims' families.

Connie Chung Joe, chief executive officer of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, espoused closer and more timely coordination between

government and community entities.

“How does government reach out to a community like Monterey Park, which is 65 percent AAPI, and how can we connect that government's power, muscles and resources?”

Peter Ng, CEO of Chinatown Service Center, said his group found that people who needed help didn't know about resources or were afraid to engage, or both.

The Rev. Eric Chen almost attended the Lunar New Year's Eve celebration at Star Ballroom Dance Studio. He changed his mind when he learned it was crowded. As a pastor in the Presbyterian Church, he has spent time with victims' families and survivors of the mass shooting. He described difficulties in getting help for legal aid to

language gaps and more.

“Everyone's trying their best but the coordination has been a challenge,” he said.

Manju Kulkarni, executive director of the AAPI Equity Alliance, oversees more than 40 community-based groups, including those that offer mental health aid in therapies both traditional and not.

“More Asian Americans report anti-Asian sentiment as their greatest source of concern, and you see that (racial trauma) growing,” Kulkarni said.

Nancy Yap, executive director of the nonprofit CAUSE, which stands for Center for Asian Americans United for Self-Empowerment.

“What does it really mean to care for our community, to build trust and

stay there?” she said. “I believe in all the parts. I believe both government and community want to work together for the same mission. We just need to find a way to better communicate, build that relationship and trust one another.”

Phun had one last request for Becerra and Chu.

“Please don't forget about us,” she said. “This city is special and this region is special. It's going to be difficult

to work with us, but please don't forget we're here.”

Becerra said the community leaders gathered with him are phenomenal.

“We trust the voices,” he said. “We will try to support those efforts and those programs that reach trusted voices like the pastors and teachers, coaches and barbers. I'm not going away. I will be around and we will be supportive.”