Community Youth Center of San Francisco

Every year, CYC is excited to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month and to participate in the nationwide #GiveInMay campaign focusing needed attention and dollars on AAPI causes. Since our earliest roots in Chinatown over 53 years ago, CYC has been an invaluable partner to the local Asian Pacific Islander (API) community, giving voice and providing services to API communities throughout the city.

API youth have encountered distinctive mental health difficulties since the onset of the pandemic, including fear for their personal safety due to xenophobic hate, adapting to a new country, and managing the typical stresses of adolescence. Unfortunately, there is often a stigma associated with seeking mental health assistance, particularly among the API community, where it is not as widely accepted. Nevertheless, API youth are now more open to addressing these issues, expressing their eagerness to break these barriers and access resources that can promote healing. In response to this need, last May we launched the AAPI Mental Health Experience, which aimed to raise awareness of mental health concerns and provide young people with the necessary support and tools through workshops.

"We want youths to realize how empowering it can be to do things differently than those around them," said CYC Youth and Family Educator Florence Go.  "In our workshop, they are being invited into a space with one another, to share the unique challenges they face talking about mental health, while learning skills to navigate through them. Our hope is for them to understand it is never too late to start having those conversations about mental health with themselves and people they trust." 

We are continuing to offer essential programs that provide youth with resources to work on their mental health, and we are allocating the funds raised for #GiveInMay to support these programs. Your support of these programs ensures that our next generation of API youth can thrive despite the challenges of this unprecedented time.

About the Community Youth Center:

For 53 years, CYC has provided the youth of San Francisco a sense of belonging and vital tools and experiences to succeed in life. CYC serves over 8,000 youth each year and is one of only a few agencies in San Francisco addressing the needs of a diverse population of low-income, high-need, and at-risk Asian Pacific Islander, Latinx and, African American youth. Our services include academic and college counseling, job placement and employment training, substance abuse and violence prevention education, crisis intervention and mediation, leadership development, and technology and computer training. 

POPULATIONS SERVED

Chinese : Taiwanese : Thai : Vietnamese : Pacific Islander : Korean : Japanese: Latinx : African American

About Give In May:

The purpose of the Give In May campaign is to raise awareness about issues Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders (AAPI) face that are often unseen. It is held in May to honor Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. The campaign is hosted by Asian Pacific Fund, a community foundation committed to improving the lives of AAPIs in the Bay Area, and AAPI Data, a national publisher of demographic data and policy research.