A groundbreaking mental health platform tailored for queer East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) individuals has launched in the UK. The community organization RED FLAGGED, founded by Ed Lee and Alex Han, aims to create a supportive and uplifting environment for this often overlooked and underserved group.
RED FLAGGED’s mission includes providing free therapy, raising awareness, hosting community events, and producing social content for queer ESEA individuals. To further these goals, they have introduced Asians Anonymous (AA), a mental health platform offering free group therapy sessions. These sessions will be led by queer ESEA therapists and held monthly for the next 12 months.
The initiative seeks to address cultural stigmas around therapy and the difficulty of finding therapists who understand both the ESEA and queer experiences. Each quarter, a different ESEA therapist will lead the sessions, providing a diverse range of perspectives and experiences from within the community.
Sessions will be hosted at Queer Britain in King’s Cross, London, and facilitated by the award-winning mental health app VODA.
“This platform was created based on personal experiences as queer and Asian,” said founder Ed Lee. “My journey has been challenging, facing unique obstacles rooted in our cultures. The launch was met with an overwhelming response from the community, with them finally feeling seen. If our work at RED FLAGGED can help a young ESEA queer person lead a happier life, then we have accomplished our goal.”
Co-founder Alex Han emphasized the dual impact of the ESEA diaspora experience. “As an ESEA diaspora, the journey can be both powerful and enriching. We are exposed to different cultures, ways of thinking, and an array of emotions. At the same time, these same intersections, unique points of view, and intense highs and lows can be overwhelming and impact one’s self-esteem and confidence. At RED FLAGGED, we believe that ‘a healthy you is a healthy community,’ and our new platform, AA (Asian Anonymous), can help ESEA queers better navigate their unique challenges and become a healthier and better you.”
The first in-person group therapy session will take place on July 12, with subsequent sessions occurring on the second Friday of each month for the following year. Sign-up for AA is free and available now.
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