Funded by the American Red Cross, the Asian American Federation’s program, “Building Bridges and Leveraging Assets for Community Recovery” (subsequently referred to as “the Mental Health Project” or “MHP”) aims to increase access to culturally appropriate mental health services for September 11th affected Chinatown elders and World Trade Center victims’ families. In partnership with two community-based service organizations, Asian LifeNet (ALN) and South Asian Council for Social Services (SACSS), it aims to connect difficult-to-reach, high-need populations with skilled, culturally competent mental health support.

To achieve this goal, the MHP has the following objectives:

1. Provide direct mental health services to Asian American victims’ families and affected Chinatown elders;
2. Increase awareness of mental health issues;
3. Bolster the process for connecting individuals in need with appropriate service providers; and
4. Enlarge the pool of qualified professionals to serve targeted AA populations via institutional arrangements.