On October 29th of this year, the Los Angeles County’s Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) is sponsoring the 9th Annual API Hope & Recovery Conference, a day-long event for Asian American & Pacific Islander mental health advocates to share their stories of hope, recovery and advocacy, and that is free to mental health clients, family members, parents and caregivers.
In the morning, the conference features keynote speaker Emily Wu Truong (@emilywspeaks), chair of the Asian Coalition of the LACDMH and long time community activist on mental health issues. Here is her biography:
Emily Wu Truong is a Taiwanese American Community Activist for Mental Health Awareness from the San Gabriel Valley. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology & Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine. Driven by her passion to impact society on a greater scale, Emily has been featured in LA County Department of Mental Health’s newest anti-stigma public service announcements (PSAs) for its social inclusion campaign in collaboration with the California Mental Health Movement, Each Mind Matters (www.eachmindmatters.org). Emily has led seminars on “Addressing the Generation Disconnect,” “Experiences as a New Client in the Mental Health System,” & “My Journey to Finding My Self-Worth.” She has been a guest for the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ Mental Health Matters Radio Show and HeartforRadio.com. In addition, Emily was interviewed by the World Journal/Chinese Daily News in November 2014, where the article reached over 45,000 individuals worldwide. As the newly elected Chair of the Asian Coalition of the LACDMH & Event Programming Chair of NAMI San Gabriel Valley, she hopes to inspire and bring more awareness to mental health issues that are often difficult for society to address today.
In the afternoon, there will be a number of workshops relevant to mental health topics, as well as several exhibitors.
Conference capacity is 400 (first come, first serve), and free to community members battling mental illness, or their caregivers and family (lunch will be provided). LA county employees are also invited to attend, although they are asked to contribute $20 if they choose to eat the provided lunch (packing your own lunch requires no fee).
Please check out the event’s Facebook page for more information, to be notified of the conference’s registration form when it becomes available, and for contact information if you have any questions!
