Asian Services in Action is getting a grant from the McGregor Foundation to provide mental health resources for elderly people in Cuyahoga County.
The group will use the money for its Asian Senior Empowerment Program, which connects low-income Asian Americans with limited English to community and mental health services.
The group’s CEO, Michael Byun, says his own grandmother is an example of how the program can help those who do not speak English well.
“When she came to the United States she didn’t have the opportunities to socialize or connect with resources because her English was not very good. So, this project, if they can’t speak the English language very comfortably, they are able to access bilingual staff.”
According to the American Society of Aging, Asian women have the highest suicide rate of any elderly racial group, and Korean-Americans experience the highest rates of depression.
