PAU Celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

  Honoring culture and promoting diversity is at the core of what we do at PAU. This month we pause to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, which began as a week-long celebration in 1978 based on a proclamation made by President Jimmy Carter. President George H.W. Bush issued another proclamation in 1990, extending the recognition to a full month, coinciding with Mental Health Awareness Month.    “May is not only Mental Health Awareness month but also Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month. In California, May 10th is also Asian Pacific American Mental Health Awareness Day,” explains Jorge Wong, Ph.D., a PAU trustee, alumnus, and clinical faculty member. “Asian Pacific American communities, like many other non-Western Eurocentric communities, continue to be underserved when it comes to seeking and benefiting from available and effective mental health services,” he says.     Palo Alto University celebrates the many contributions Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have made to American society, this month and all year long. We also seek to increase access to mental health services for all communities and people in need by training the next generation of culturally-competent and compassionate professionals.