If you don't feel like you are safe, you don't feel like you can belong — you remember Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs — we cannot thrive, we cannot succeed, we cannot be respected, respected by others. And so it's fundamental that we believe, that we belong, and that we feel safe in our society.
And this really has a damaging effect on mental health for our community. Mental health is a significant problem for the AAPI community, as for other communities. But we have the terrible statistic that, among AAPI youth ages 15 to 24, suicide is the leading cause of death. And our group is unique in that, unfortunately.
