Dear friends, 

On Saturday night, we suffered unthinkable tragedy when a gunman opened fire at a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park, California. The victims’ names are: Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68; Hongying Jian, 62; Yu Lun Kao, 72; Lilan Li, 63; Ming Wei Ma, 72; My My Nhan, 65; Diana Man Ling Tom, 70; Muoi Dai Ung, 67; Chia Ling Yau, 76; Xiujuan Yu, 57; and Wen Tau Yu, 64.

While grieving for the victims of the mass shooting in Monterey Park, we are now also mourning the seven victims of the shooting in Half Moon Bay. Six of the victims have been identified and their names are: Yetao Bing, 43; Qizhong Cheng, 66; Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50; Zhishen Liu, 73; Jingzhi Lu, 64; and Aixiang Zhang, 74.

We are devastated for the lives lost, families affected, and for our community to endure yet another act of violence.

TAAF’s immediate focus is working with community organizations, government leaders, and the media to help support the victims, their families, the communities of both Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, and the broader AAPI and Latino communities.  

Regardless of motive, we must remember that all acts of violence contribute to the heightened anxiety and fear our community continues to experience every day. 

We wanted to share the actions we are taking, ways you can support, and resources to support you. 

• MONTEREY PARK, CA:

  • We partnered with Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), Stop AAPI Hate, Asian Pacific Community Fund, Stand with Asian Americans, Gold House, AAPI Equity Alliance, Chinatown Service Center, and many more to launch a GoFundMe campaign for the victims, their families, and those impacted by the Monterey Park mass shooting. All proceeds will go directly to individuals affected by this horrific tragedy. We encourage you to share this widely and welcome any donations. TAAF has made a $100,000 contribution from our GoFundMe AAPI Emergency Relief Fund. 

  • We also continue to engage with a coalition of AAPI organizations and government agencies to discuss ways we can provide rapid support to the victims and communities. The coalition members, organized by AJSOCAL and the LA Commission on Human Relations, connected with faith institutions to comfort families and raised awareness among limited English proficient older adults through Chinese, Vietnamese, and other ethnic media outlets.

  • Our partners at AAPI Equity Alliance have compiled an in-language resource directory of immediate support for victims, mental health resources, legal services, resources for victims of domestic violence and anti-AAPI hate, and other types of assistance.

• HALF MOON BAY, CA: 

  • TAAF is in active discussions with regional and local organizations to determine the best course of action to meet the needs of the affected families and the larger community. 

  • We are supporting Self-Help for the Elderly, an organization that provides assistance and support to older adults in the San Francisco Bay Area, to provide in-language counseling from licensed psychologists to the families.
     
• MEDIA RESOURCES & WELLNESS SUPPORT:

  • For our corporate and media partners, we encourage you to consult The Asian American Journalist Association’s guidance for covering violence against the AAPI community. AAJA has also included a pronunciation guide for the names of the victims. We are grateful to the AAPI journalists who are committed to ensuring our stories do not fade from the headlines, and want to support their mental health as they report from the front lines.

We are still learning more about these rapidly unfolding situations and will keep you apprised as we receive updates to resources and donation links.

Please reach out to rapidresponse@taaf.org for any support we can offer you or your organization.

In solidarity, 

Norman Chen
CEO, The Asian American Foundation