Ken­neth Young Cen­ter State­ment Against Vio­lence and Dis­crim­i­na­tion of Asian Amer­i­can Pacif­ic Island Communities

March 19, 2021

Dear KYC Staff & Community, 

As the CEO of Ken­neth Young Cen­ter (KYC) and an Asian Amer­i­can woman, I want to ensure that it is clear that KYC stands against all forms of hate, dis­crim­i­na­tion, and big­otry in our com­mu­ni­ties and our world. Six of the eight peo­ple who were killed in this week’s attacks in Geor­gia were of Asian descent and sev­en of the eight were women. With the Anti-Asian rhetoric and the vio­lence against the Asian Amer­i­can Pacif­ic Islander (AAPI) com­mu­ni­ty on the rise, this under­scores a deeply trou­bling racism that exists in our coun­try that is not only unac­cept­able, but should not and will not be tol­er­at­ed. Sex­ism and vio­lence against women are too com­mon and often ignored. Such acts of vio­lence have no place in our society. 

These acts of vio­lence and hate that have been per­pe­trat­ed against mar­gin­al­ized groups, whether they be against Asian, Lat­inX, Black, female, reli­gious, or LGBTQ+ peo­ple have cre­at­ed a deep phys­i­cal, emo­tion­al, and ongo­ing trau­ma that we must acknowl­edge, active­ly break­down, and then rebuild and repair soci­etal con­structs to cre­ate safe and inclu­sive com­mu­ni­ties for all. As an agency pro­vid­ing men­tal health ser­vices and com­mu­ni­ty-based sup­port pro­grams, we rec­og­nize the col­lec­tive impact these acts of hate have on AAPI com­mu­ni­ties and indi­vid­u­als, as well as all peo­ple who have expe­ri­enced the trau­mat­ic effects of hate toward their race, reli­gion, sex­u­al ori­en­ta­tion, gen­der, or back­ground. KYC is com­mit­ted to embrac­ing indi­vid­u­als from every back­ground because our dif­fer­ence is our strength and in our strength we need both words and action. Togeth­er We Thrive.

We will con­tin­ue to work every day to pro­vide access to men­tal health ser­vices and the sup­ports our com­mu­ni­ties need. Should you or some­one you know need coun­sel­ing, sup­port, or care resources, please call us at (847) 524‑8800. We have includ­ed below addi­tion­al resources as we work togeth­er to build inclu­sive, safe com­mu­ni­ties for us all. 

For edu­ca­tion­al resources on anti-Asian racism, see the Race and Eth­nic­i­ty sec­tion of the Har­vard Library Diver­si­ty, Inclu­sion, and Belong­ing Col­lec­tion and this web­page of the Har­vard Women in Tech + Allies group. For edu­ca­tion­al resources on advanc­ing gen­der equi­ty, see the Gen­der Action Por­tal of Har­vard Kennedy School’s Women and Pub­lic Pol­i­cy Pro­gram and research on the glob­al preva­lence and costs of gen­dered vio­lence.

With pro­found empathy,

Grace Hong Duf­fin
Pres­i­dent & CEO

Resources

If You Have Expe­ri­enced a Hate Crime, These Resources Can Help

North Sub­ur­ban Legal Aid Clin­ic — (847) 737‑4042 or info@​nslegalaid.​org

Asian Lan­guage Legal Intake Project Hot­line — (888) 349‑9695
Find resources, coun­sel­ing, or refer­ral to an attor­ney on issues of dis­crim­i­na­tion, hous­ing, immi­gra­tion, employ­ment, etc. avail­able in Eng­lish, Chi­nese, Kore­an, Taga­log, and Thai

Anti-Defama­tion League

FBI Online

Men­tal Health Support

Ken­neth Young Cen­ter - 847−524−8800

Cri­sis Text Line - Text HOME to 741741 to con­nect with a Cri­sis Counselor

Asian Human Ser­vices 24-Hour Men­tal Health Cri­sis Line — (773) 293‑8488

Addi­tion­al Resources

Learn­ing for Jus­tice - Respond­ing to Anti-Asian Vio­lence and Geor­gia Shootings

Har­vard Library Diver­si­ty, Inclu­sion, and Belong­ing Collection

Har­vard Women in Tech + Allies group

Gen­der Action Por­tal of Har­vard Kennedy School’s Women and Pub­lic Pol­i­cy Program

Har­vard Kennedy School’s Women and Pub­lic Pol­i­cy Pro­gram research on the glob­al preva­lence and costs of gen­dered violence

Asian Amer­i­cans Advanc­ing Jus­tice — Chicago

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