Sometime back I was honored to have received an invitation to speak at an event organized by the AshaUSA organization (ashausa.org), in Edina, MN. The topic was “Being Brown in America”, based on my first book about impact of bias-based bullying on mental health.
As per their website, “AshaUSA is a non-profit organization focused on creating healthy, happy, and harmonious South Asian communities by engaging and empowering South Asian women, men, and children through culturally specific programs and services.With the increase in population, challenges associated with acculturation in terms of health, youth development, and family relationships have become more distinct. There is a need for culturally specific programs that proactively address acculturation challenges for the South Asian community in Minnesota. AshaUSA will focus on implementing culturally specific programs that will proactively address acculturation challenges with the first generation immigrant community before they become major issues”.
At this presentation my goal was to develop awareness about possible significant mental health issues triggered by bias-based bullying. I am aware that children are still being bullied around the country because of being “different’ in some ways. I hope presentations like this will continue to bring awareness to both adults and children as they navigate through this difficult phase.