Asian Mental Health Partnership Initiative (AMHPI)

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The Asian Mental Health Partnership Initiative (AMHPI) was established by the Asian Health Coalition to increase Asian American awareness of and accessibility to culturally and linguistically competent mental health services and resources. This initiative was the only Asian-focused collaboration to be funded from 2007 to 2010 by a multi-year bilingual, bicultural demonstration grant from the Office of Minority Health, Department of Health and Human Services.

TARGET POPULATION:

Asian American immigrant and refugee communities in metropolitan Chicago

PARTNERS:

• Chinese American Service League
• Chinese Mutual Aid Association
• Cambodian Association of Illinois
• Hamdard Center
• Korean American Community Services
• Lao American Community Services
• Lao American Organization Elgin
• Vietnamese Association of Illinois
• Chicago Community Counseling Center

PROGRAM GOALS:

• Identify current mental health issues, attitudes, help-seeking practices, and commonly used resources among local Asian Americans
• Reduce barriers to mental health care and services through education and dialogue
• Provide resources for cultural and linguistically appropriate mental health care
• Increase mental health literacy and access to culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health education resources among limited English proficient Asian Americans
• Build the capacity of Asian American-serving, community-based organizations to address the mental health needs and emotional support needs of their clients
• Conduct youth outreach with the long-term goal of diversifying the social services/mental health workforce.