A SISTER PROGRAM OF IWAY
Voicing Our Stories (VOS) is part of the Improving the Wellness of Asian Youth (IWAY) Project, a health intervention program at the Public Health Institute (PHI) that promotes mental health and emotional wellness, as well as addresses mental health stigma, among the AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) community. VOS is supported by PHI’s seed fund for developing larger public health intervention projects. The goal of the project is to:
Provide a safe space and platform for victims and community members exposed to anti-Asian hate and discrimination to voice their experiences in a way that honors their stories, power, and resilience.
Interview AAPI community leaders about anti-Asian discrimination preventative measures, suggestions for community action, and how to advocate for policies, while practicing active allyship with other minority communities.
Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in anti-Asian racism, xenophobia, and acts of violence against the AAPI community. Between March 2020 to March 2021, the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center has reported 6,603 hate incidents (Stop AAPI Hate, 2021). Significant incidents that have impacted victims, witnesses, and the AAPI community at large include physical attacks against AAPI elders and the shooting of six women of Asian descent in the Atlanta Metropolitan area. News and media often highlight and sensationalize these events, but offer few options for victims to voice their stories, emotions, and experiences of healing in the aftermath of these traumatic events.
By offering a platform for members of the AAPI community to voice their stories, VOS intends to deconstruct the ‘model minority’ myth that stereotypes the AAPI community as the good, assimilated, successful, self-sufficient, and silent minority. The project also seeks to challenge the harmful cultural norm within AAPI communities of staying silent about their issues and struggles in order to not draw attention to themselves. In order to challenge the ‘model minority’ myth and cultural norms, the storytelling project creates an opportunity to amplify AAPI voices, to allow for healing through storytelling, and to empower AAPI individuals and give them a platform to empower others through their stories.
GOALS
To create a safe and empowering space for victims of anti-Asian hate and discrimination to voice their truths and tell their side of the story
To raise awareness about AAPI's experiences of racism in a way that centers on the narratives of victims
To deconstruct the ‘model minority’ myth that stereotypes the AAPI community as the silent minority
To challenge the cultural norm in AAPI communities of staying silent about their issues and struggles in order not to draw attention to themselves
To learn from and amplify recommendations from AAPI community leaders on how to better prevent and address anti-Asian discrimination while practicing active allyship with other minority communities