About
our mission
NAPAFASA is dedicated to mental health advocacy through research, public health and policy reform, and community empowerment through civic engagement. In order to get there, we know it takes putting community voices at the heart of our work. We are committed to health equity and social justice by working to reduce substance misuse and partnering with our communities to promote mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being.
OUR Values and vision
Everyone deserves to have access to fundamental resources to live a healthy and fulfilling life. These resources include adequate housing, nutritious food, consistent employment, quality education, clean water, affordable healthcare and childcare, safety, and a thriving environment. While having a tendency towards addiction may involve some genetic or hereditary component, not having any of these resources are risk factors for behavioral health conditions. Because access to resources can vary from person-to-person and community-to-community, centering the lived and living experiences of people who have mental health conditions and people who use drugs are among the most important parts of what we do. In approaching our work this way, we hope to contribute to a world where people have equitable access to these resources and have the tools and agency to sustain a healthy lifestyle.
ON CHANGING OUR NAME and logo
There is no “one size fits all” approach to addressing substance misuse and substance use disorder, and recovery from substance use disorder can look different from one person to the next. For some—complete abstinence and sobriety from all drug use is their best option. For many others, total sobriety is not sustainable, and failing to meet this expectation can drive folks further into shame and isolation from their loved ones, causing harm and pain to all involved. This often fuels defenses towards being vulnerable and honest, which only worsens the stigma we experience when talking about mental health and why it can be hard to stay well. At its worst, isolation and shame can lead to tragedy. For this reason, it’s important for us to name our own limitations as an organization and advocates and focus on planting seeds of change by meeting people where they are and without judgment. These are foundational values of the harm reduction movement. In changing our logo and name, we honor this work, its advocates and leaders, the importance of community, and most importantly—those lost to and harmed by addiction.
For more information on harm reduction, please visit the National Harm Reduction Coalition and SAMHSA’s Harm Reduction Framework, which NAPAFASA proudly contributed to alongside community advocates and leaders across harm reduction, recovery, and behavioral health.
History
NAPAFASA was founded as a 501(c)(3) private, nonprofit organization on February 8, 1988, in Maryland by Pat and Lily Okura. Concerned with the lack of culturally-responsive behavioral health services for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, Ford and Frances were instrumental in expanding NAPAFASA as a national resource for our communities. Since its founding, NAPAFASA has promoted education and research and spread awareness of substance use to prevent and reduce substance use disorder in Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Our headquarters is currently in the City of Alhambra in Los Angeles County, California.
To prevent and reduce substance use disorder, we study how the environment and social determinants of health affect our mental health and wellbeing. Our priorities are to:
- promote health justice;
- encourage connection and safe risk-taking using healing through the arts;
- encourage cultural connection and identity-awareness;
- encourage cross-generational and cross-community dialogue;
- develop opportunities for leadership and self-empowerment;
- improve the cultural responsiveness of behavioral health services;
- advocate for improved language access and data disaggregation; and
- share tools for systems change, knowing that we can all have a part in transforming our communities for the better and that each unique part has an important role to play.
Commitment to learning
The Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander diaspora represents over 50 ethnic groups and over 100 spoken languages and dialects. Mental health, substance misuse and substance use disorder, and community wellbeing are public health issues; ongoing education on social determinants of health and how access—or lack of access to—resources directly affect our health and sense of wellbeing. Consistently involving community members and engaging with leaders inform how we conduct research, share information, plan community events, and seek guidance and partnerships with other organizations. As a long-time member of coalitions like the AAPI Equity Alliance (formerly, A3PCON) and the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), we also work closely with regional and national partners to stay updated on how current events and policies impact direct services and harm reduction efforts.
Because we can’t do this alone, we teamed up with several partners, including the AANHPI ‘Ohana Center of Excellence, the National Harm Reduction Coalition, the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIHMHA), API-RISE, the Asian American Drug Abuse Program (AADAP), and the Asian Pacific Community Fund (APCF).
