AAPI Equity Alliance Co-hosts the First Stop the Hate Convening in California
Los Angeles, CA: On October 9-10, 2023, AAPI Equity Alliance (AAPI Equity), the Los Angeles County regional lead for the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Stop the Hate Program, co-hosted the first ever gathering at The California Endowment in Los Angeles of community-based organizations tackling hate across California, as they begin building a statewide network to combat hate.
The convening was co-hosted with CDSS and the regional leads from other parts of the state, including Sierra Health Foundation (Northern CA, San Joaquin Valley, and Statewide), Asian Health Services (Bay Area and Central Coast), Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (Orange County and Inland Empire), and Catalyst of San Diego and Imperial Counties (San Diego and Imperial Counties).
In response to the rising tide of hate during the pandemic, California legislators approved the groundbreaking Stop the Hate program that provided funding administered through CDSS to 80 community organizations statewide providing direct services to victims of hate and their families, and prevention and intervention programs and services to communities vulnerable to hate. The grant program was recently expanded to award an additional $91.4 million to over 170 organizations.
"We're trying something here in California that no one else is trying. The point of the Stop the Hate program was to make an investment towards a permanent difference and build every community up with that infrastructure," said Assembly Budget Chair Phil Ting (D-San Francisco).
The Stop the Hate program has expanded to include organizations serving the Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, Black, Latinx, LGBTQIA+, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, and disability communities, enabling them to raise awareness of hate in our midst, create collaborative spaces for healing, resiliency, and action, and share resources to support individuals who have been affected by hate.
“We applaud the expansion of grantees including organizations serving the Black, Latinx, LGBTQ, disabled, and religious minority communities, and the state’s recommitment to fighting hate in our communities. This convening is the beginning of strengthening the nonprofit network and coalition building to create community change so everyone can live freely, safely, and thrive without fear of hate violence,” said Manjusha P. Kulkarni, Executive Director of AAPI Equity.
To kick off the expanded Stop the Hate program, 300 representatives from grantee organizations convened in Los Angeles. Speakers included Joel Gemino (Equality CA), Laila Aziz (Pillars of the Community), Don Han (Groundswell), Lisa Fu (CA Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative), Reena Hajat Carroll (CA Conference on Equality and Justice), Deep Singh (Jakara), Julia Liou (Asian Health Services), Miriam Mesa (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights), and Bayanne Kanawati (Council on American-Islamic Relations) who spoke on the importance of cross-racial collaboration and transformative change.
“To date, our data shows that over 14,000 people were served through direct services and over 2 million people were reached by the prevention and intervention services in the first year of the program. It is inspiring to witness community organizations make long lasting connections and actively strategize towards the future,” said Kim Johnson, Director of CDSS.
AAPI Equity serves as the regional lead for 42 Los Angeles County grantees. For the complete list of this round of grantees, visit https://bit.ly/3FApgHa .
For more information about the Stop the Hate program, visit www.stopthehateca.org .
AAPI Equity Alliance (AAPI Equity) is a coalition of over 40 community-based organizations serving the diverse needs of the 1.6 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County and beyond. It is dedicated to improving the lives of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders through civic engagement, capacity building, and policy advocacy.
