This May, Pacific Clinics is pleased to join our community in celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and we are equally gratified that we can serve these members of our community every day of the year. Our culturally competent and linguistically responsive programs, anchored in all of our services and particularly our Asian Pacific Family Center (APFC) and historical Ming Quong Home, enable us to reach underserved populations while reducing the persistent stigma around seeking life-affirming, emotional and mental health support.
Opening its doors in 1986, APFC offers a broad range of services to meet the evolving challenges our clients face. Whether they need substance use disorder services or gang violence prevention, bicultural parent education or positive youth development support and peer support groups, we partner with our clients and their families in their treatment plans. Our mental health counseling and treatment are supported by a full complement of physical health and mental wellness programs, as well as community outreach and education initiatives.
Our dedicated behavioral health experts are reflective of our community and provide services in Cambodian, Cantonese, Chiu Chow, English, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, Taiwanese, Toisanese and Vietnamese.
We also want to honor and remember the life-changing work done at the Ming Quong Home. From 1925 through the mid-50s, the Ming Quong Home provided a safe, affirming home for more than 400 girls of Chinese, Chinese-American and Chinese bi-racial heritage. At one time, it was the only institution in all of North America dedicated to serving this population.
By the late ’50s, it opened its doors to boys and children of all backgrounds. Over the following decades, the Ming Quong Home would continue to provide residential treatment services and instill a strong work ethic and lasting values in children who passed through its doors. After several mergers, the Ming Quong Home would become part of a legacy that Pacific Clinics is proud to celebrate.
Even as we celebrate this history of service, dedication and success, it is widely recognized that individuals of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander descent face barriers to health care and are among the least likely to obtain support for behavioral health. However, through education and outreach, Pacific Clinics actively works to address obstacles, including cultural taboos around speaking of mental health challenges, lack of awareness of services, language challenges and the persistent stigma about needing support that crosses multiple cultures and communities.
Pacific Clinics remains more dedicated than ever to offering quality services and continue partnering with our clients and families across the state.
Learn more about APFC, its clients and the history of the Ming Quong Home by watching the video and clicking on the links below.
