News

The National Asian Pacific Islander American Panhellenic Association (NAPA) and the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA) and Active Minds are excited to announce a new partnership to bring mental health education and awareness to Asian and Asian-American students on college campuses. Through the Friends DO Make a Difference initiative, collegiate chapters of NAPA will have access to programming and resources to promote mental health, reduce stigma, and encourage help-seeking in a community that may face cultural and language barriers when accessing treatment. “We identified that mental health is a significant and unaddressed issue for many of our member organizations,” said Brian Gee, Executive Chair of NAPA. “We are excited to partner with two prominent organizations in the field of mental health to equip the collegiate leaders we represent with skills and knowledge needed to recognize and refer peers who might be struggling.” “Research has shown that Asian students on campus with mental health problems are significantly less likely to be receiving treatment than their peers in other racial/ethnic groups,” said Sara Abelson, Senior Director of Programs at Active Minds. The Friends DO Make A Difference initiative aims to have NAPA members start a series of dialogues and activities on a range of topics, recognizing that mental health is a part of their everyday lives. NAPA chapters participating in the Friends DO Make a Difference initiative will train chapter officers and advisors to identify signs and symptoms of mental health concerns and host events with their membership to connect them to mental health resources on campus. Upon completion of mental health training and programming, chapters will be recognized with a Friends DO Make a Difference Seal of Distinction. “The Friends campaign was designed to raise awareness of mental health among Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students. The hope is to make campuses a safe place to talk about key issues as students learn how to support each other. We are excited to work closely with NAPA and Active Minds to develop student leaders who will advocate on behalf of mental health,” said DJ Ida, Executive Director of NAAPIMHA. “By working with the next generation of leaders, we hope to reduce stigma and open positive dialogue about mental health for years to come.” “We are excited to partner with NAPA and NAAPIMHA to reach an important and often underserved community of students when it comes to mental health awareness,” said Sara Abelson, Senior Director of Programs at Active Minds. The Friends DO Make a Difference initiative will support Active Minds’ mission to empower students to speak openly about mental health in order to educate others and encourage help seeking. About the National Asian Pacific Islander American Panhellenic Association The National Asian Pacific Islander American Panhellenic Association (NAPA) is an association of collegiate fraternities and sororities with an interest in culture and serving the APIA community. The organization serves to advocate the needs of its member organizations and provides a forum to share ideas and resources within its members. NAPA supports the development of positive relations through open communication with interfraternal partners to enrich the fraternal experience. Learn more at www.napa-online.org. About the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association The National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. NAAPIMHA’s mission is to promote the mental health and well being of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Since its founding, NAAPIMHA strives to raise awareness of the role of mental health in an individual’s health and well-being, especially in Asian American Pacific Islander communities throughout the country. For more information visit: www.naapimha.org. About Active Minds, Inc. Active Minds is the young adult voice in mental health advocacy. By supporting a rapidly growing network of hundreds of student-led chapters at colleges and universities, Active Minds empowers students to speak openly about mental health in order to educate others and encourage help-seeking.  Active Minds is a national nonprofit headquartered in Washington D.C. Follow us on Twitter @Active_Minds. For more information visit: www.ActiveMinds.org.

The National APIA Panhellenic Association (NAPA) is pleased to announce that Sigma Sigma Rho Sorority, Inc. has joined the Association as its 13th member organization. The sorority was approved for membership in November and was formally seated at the Association’s annual meeting on December 7th, 2013. Sigma Sigma Rho was established in December 1998 and currently has established chapters across the country. Its national philanthropy is the awareness and prevention of domestic violence. Kiran Wadhwa, Sigma Sigma Rho’s National President, commented, “We highly value and respect NAPA’s standards and significance in the Greek world. Sigma Sigma Rho takes much pride in being able to work alongside other NAPA organizations to give back to the community and make a difference in our collective future.” NAPA Executive Chair Brian Gee welcomed Sigma Sigma Rho stating, “The addition of Sigma Sigma Rho Sorority to the Association is evidence of the incredible growth of the cultural greek movement and the critical role our organizations play in the lives of our members and in the communities which we serve. Their membership reinforces the diverse needs and interests of college women. Fraternities and Sororities are the largest leadership development organizations on colleges across the country and we look forward to Sigma Sigma Rho’s collaboration with our member organizations in our effort to advance the fraternal movement.” NAPA was founded in 2005. NAPA serves to advocate the needs of its member organizations and provide a forum to share ideas and resources within its members. NAPA supports the development of positive relations through open communication with interfraternal partners to enrich the fraternal experience.

We’re proud to announce our partnership with City Year to provide more of our Asian American alumni with the opportunity to make a difference through this program. Check out the press release here.

In 2008, July was proclaimed National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month by the U.S. House of Representatives, in hopes of improving access to mental health treatment and services through increased public awareness. On May 5, 2013, the NAPA Mental Health Initiative was introduced on a monthly NAPA call, during which the idea of participating in NMMHA Month was introduced. Join NAPA in this effort to raise awareness by using the hashtag #MinorityMentalHealth in your social media posts. You can also tag the following Twitter handles: @nned_net @NAMICommunicate @TheBalancedMind @NIMHgov And the Facebook page for Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month at http://www.facebook.com/minoritymentalhealth. Get your brothers, sisters, friends and family to also participate and take the pledge to take action and increase awareness of mental illness and mental health promotion while embracing the diversity of our community here. You can also consider attending the following Webinar: Our Strength and Support: Celebrating National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month Presented by Bassey Ikpi (The Siwe Project), Ramey Ko (Partner at Jung Ko, PLLC) and Associate Judge at Austin Municipal Court Wednesday, July 17, 2013 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. EST

Nina Louie is a Stanford University alpha Kappa Delta Phi alumna who has been diagnosed with lymphoma. She has one month left to find a bone marrow match and donor. Nina is more likely to find a match in someone of Asian ethnicity, and, because the number of Asians in the bone marrow registry is so low, we need your help. Please help Nina and get typed, whether it’s ordering a home kit or going to a bone marrow drive. The test is really as easy as a cheek swab. Please encourage your sisters, brothers, friends and family to get typed as well! Visit www.savenina.com for more information.