Background: Asians make up over half of the new immigrants in California, many of whom have suffered various types of trauma before and after their migration. Additionally, Asian American and Asian Immigrant (AAAI) communities have experienced an increasing amount of racial harassment and violence since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, mental health problems in AAAI youth are often under-reported and under-treated due to assessment biases, lack of data for Asian sub-ethnic groups, and stigmatization of mental health issues in Asian cultures. To fill this gap, in 2016, the Improving the Wellness of Asian Youth (IWAY) project collaborated with community-based mental health service agencies to provide trauma-informed mental health care and prevention for AAAI youth in Alameda County, CA. In 2023, we launched the school-based IWAY2 project with an expansion of focus to address the negative impacts of racial harassment and violence against AAAIs.

Description: IWAY and IWAY2 adapted a community-based comprehensive service delivery model and integrated multiple evidence-based programs. Both projects have four components: 1) culturally and linguistically competent counseling, 2) youth empowerment program, 3) youth internship, and 4) dissemination of mental health prevention messages. IWAY also implemented a digital storytelling program to facilitate AAAI youth voicing their living experience of racial trauma.

Lessons Learned: Partnering with ten schools, two projects have enrolled 79 youth for counseling and 128 youth for empowerment programs. We established MOUs with 7 CBOs and reached over 23,000 youth through social media posts, monthly newsletters, and in-person outreach. Further, six high school interns were hired as part-time employees, who led community events that reduced mental health stigma among AAAI students and played a crucial role in reaching our target population. Participants in the counseling program reported higher willingness to discuss mental health problems and better emotional and behavioral coping skills, while participants in the empowerment program reported stronger ethnic identity and less anxiety.

Implications: A strong network with local schools and CBOs and an emphasis on building trust and rapport with youth are important factors for future projects to successfully address the pressing needs of culturally competent mental health services for AAAI youth.