AASPI MISSION

The purpose of Asian American Suicide Prevention Initiative (AASPI) is to reduce suicide in Asian American communities in Illinois by education, training, advocacy, and research initiatives.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Asian American Suicide Prevention Initiative at NOPCAS Conference

Dear Friends,

You are cordially invited to the Seeking Light in the Darkness break-out sessions on February 8, 2008 at the National Organization for People of Color against Suicide (NOPCAS) 10th Anniversary Conference. The Asian American Suicide Prevention Initiative (AASPI) will facilitate these sessions as part of the NOPCAS conference to be held on February 7-9, 2008 at the Marriott Los Angeles Airport Hotel.

Seeking Light in the Darkness is an experiential workshop where Asian American/Asian suicide survivors and health care providers who work with Asian American/Asian communities can speak, listen, and support one another about depression, suicide, and suicide prevention.

For details, click on the title of this post or go to www.nopcas.org and click on the "register for 10th Annual Conference" button on the left side. We hope to see you there!

Sincerely,
Aruna Jha, AASPI Vice-President
Joanna Su, AASPI President
Eliza Noh, Professor at CSU-Fullerton

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

"Finding Iris Chang" Reading & Discussion


Dear AASPI Friends,

AASPI is pleased to co-sponsor the event below which is organized by the Asian American Bar Association’s (AABA) Community Service Committee (please see attached flyer). Author Paula Kamen, who had known acclaimed author Iris Chang since college, writes about Chang’s background and events leading to her death by suicide at age 36 in 2004. Kamen’s book addresses the stigma of mental illness in the Asian American community, Chang's feelings of guilt over her son's autism, her veneer of perfection and the deterioration of her mental state.

Following the reading, AASPI will be facilitating an informal discussion at a nearby restaurant (details tbd). Please share this invitation with your friends and colleagues, and if you can join us, please rsvp to me at joanna@aaichicago.org.

Thanks so much,

Joanna

Finding Iris Chang

A Reading By Paula Kamen


January 17, 2008

6 P.M. Thursday

Barnes & Noble
1 East Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL



Sponsored by the Asian American Bar Association (AABA) Community Service Committee


Light refreshments served


The Community Service Committee of AABA presents a book reading by Paula Kamen. In this intimate and inquisitive biography, Kamen examines letters, diaries, archives, and personal correspondence to shed light on the enigmatic life and death of a brilliant Asian American woman in the prime of her career. As an Illinois native, Iris’ internal struggles resonate with Chicagoland’s Asian Americans.



For more information, contact Betty Jang, 630.207.8088
Cosponsors: Asian American Suicide Prevention Initiative