ABOUT THE PROJECT: I produced this piece in response to the surge in attacks against Asian American elders on the streets of San Francisco. There has been significant and often emotionally taxing and graphic images of these violent attacks in the media. I wanted to produce a piece about a unique community solution that had the potential to be replicated in many other communities.

The story was highlighted by the Solutions Journalism Network as a piece that effectively illustrated not just a growing problem, but an intervention that was working to help reduce both hate crimes and prison recidivism. The piece was also featured in a forum at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, along with a panel of experts, including Russell Jeung, the co-founder of the Stop AAPI Hate Movement, Paul Watanabe who directs the Institute of Asian American Studies, Juliet Choi, CEO of the Asian and Pacific Islander Health Forum, and Howard K. Koh, Former Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

I heard from many listeners who shared that this was one of the first stories about anti-Asian hate crimes that they were willing to listen to, after the many difficult headlines about the AAPI community this past year. Many asked about bringing similar programs to their communities. Several young journalists and student journalists also reached out to me after the story aired, asking for mentorship about covering similar topics.

RUNNER UP: Molly Solomon, “How a Landless Native American Tribe in California Is Housing Its Homeless Members,” KQED