LA County to Provide Services and Information to Combat Anxiety, Fear and Discrimination Associated with Coronavirus Outbreak

Los Angeles, CA — Today, in response to a request from Supervisor Janice Hahn, the LA County Departments of Mental Health and Public Health are increasing services and outreach to communities impacted by fear, anxiety, and discrimination associated with the Coronavirus outbreak.

The County is distributing a guide for coping with stress during an infectious disease outbreak which can be found here in English, as well as Spanish, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.

The LA County Departments of Mental Health and Public Health announced plans to distribute information about Asian Pacific Islander mental health providers, educational information on anxiety, bullying, depression, and connect people in need with the 24/7 Department of Mental Health ACCESS Line. They will also distribute accurate information about the Coronavirus in order to combat the spread of disinformation about the disease.

There is currently only one confirmed case of Coronavirus in Los Angeles County. However, residents across the County, especially in the Asian Pacific Islander community have experienced harassment, discrimination, and elevated levels of anxiety and fear because of the outbreak overseas.

“The Coronavirus outbreak is happening on the other side of the globe, but residents here in LA County are experiencing discrimination, harassment, bullying and fear because of it,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “LA County is making mental health services and information available that I hope will decrease some of this fear and anxiety and give impacted communities the support they need to get through this difficult time.”

All information will be translated into Spanish, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, Tagalog, Japanese, and Korean Russian languages and will be distributed to various community stakeholder groups, Health Neighborhood/Clergy Counsels, directly operated clinics, health centers and other community agencies and organizations as well as posted on the Departments’ websites.