About
Why did it start?
Around the beginning of 2020, a virus, Coronavirus or Covid-19, was identified in the U.S. It caused an influence of hate on the world against the AAPI communities. NBC wrote an article about some reasons why here: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/anti-asian-hate-crimes-increased-nearly-150-2020-mostly-n-n1260264
The article talks about how Trump, who was President at the time, had an influence on why the AAPI communities received hate. Trump being President meant that he had a lot of influence on the people, during the start of the pandemic, Trump would call the virus "China virus" and state that the virus originated from China. These actions helped start the escalation of hate because it prompted the people that follow or listen to the President or Trump to begin thinking harshly of anyone apart of the AAPI communities and may act against them. Several other government officials also played a part in contributing to the rise, with referring to Covid-19 as the "Wuhan" virus, which had the same effect on people like Trump, prompting people who follow these officials to think harshly of the AAPI communities and act against them. It is also mentioned that the pandemic of Covid-19 is used as a justification to act against the communities.
History
Throughout history, the AAPI communities have continued to experience a trend in violence and discrimination. As stated in this Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/03/18/history-anti-asian-violence-racism/, this trend can be seen as early as 1854, with the People v. Hall court case. This case ruled that anyone of Asian descent could not testify against a white person in court, and this ruling ensured that whites could escape punishment from violence against the AAPI communities. It continues to 1871, where over 500 people, part of a riot, attacked a small Chinese community in Los Angeles, and none were ever convicted.
The trend continues throughout history, with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned Chinese immigration for 10 years.
It continues through even the murder of Vincent Chin in 1982, where two men mistook Chin for being the "Japanese" who took their job and beat him with a bat, and Chin died days later. In the year 2021, the AAPI communities have faced discrimination and hate as stated by a New York Times Post, https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/03/17/us/shooting-atlanta-acworth when a gunman shot in 3 separate spas in Atlanta, Georgia, that killed 8 people, 6 women of Asian descent. The gunman said that the shootings were to carry eliminate his "temptation," and officers in Georgia didn't classify this crime as a hate crime. These incidents are only a few that have continued to happen throughout history without any real consequences/punishments.
Mental Health
In today's world, mental health is a huge issue across all groups and communities, however, with the recent escalation of hate and discrimination against the AAPI communities, the need for mental health help also escalated for these communities.
Oliver Kim wrote an article explaining more on the situation here: https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20210827.800655/full/
He brings up 2 common traits within Asian culture, stoicism and being a model minority. Stoicism is described as enduring hardships without complaints, meaning asking for help isn't common within the Asian communities. Model minority comes from a stigma that is associated with the Asian community, which sets higher standards and is told to do or be better. He ties these into how the AAPI communities now might have a hard time asking for help because of these 2 common ideas and because of the recent escalations.
I also added an infographic on the left from the AAPA Communication Chair. It includes multiple statistics that describe how the mental health of the AAPI communities has been affected. For example, it includes "53% of Asian Americans say that mental health concerns are a significant source of stress." This data can also be heavily underrepresented because many people in the AAPI communities are afraid/scared to report their incident, and many members don't understand what classifies as a hate incident, therefore they would not report their incident.
Whats Happening Next?/ How To Help
The Stop AAPI Hate coalition tracks reports and incidents happening around the United States of America. This coalition has had the most impact in bringing attention and helping the AAPI communities. On the front page of their website, they have an interactive button that says Act Now, which brings you to a page that has multiple ways on how to help. They have a form where you can report an incident that you've seen happen and this helps them keep track of everything and to know what is happening in the world within the AAPI communities. This form also helps them make a statistical report about all the incidents that were submitted which helps show how the AAPI communities have been discriminated against, which can be used as evidence in making future policies and helps the communities in any way.