Fund used for Atlanta spa shooting aids victims in California mass shooting

By Sawyer Buccy

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) — Two years ago, Angela Hsu with the AAPI Crime Victims & Education Fund, was working with a team of people trying to support the families of Asian American victims gunned down in several Atlanta Spas.

On Monday, Angela was asked to join a call representing the fund, with leaders in California who are trying to support the families of 11 people who were killed when a gunman opened fire after a Lunar New Year celebration.

”I thought it was important to share our experience even though the circumstances of that shooting are quite different than ours,” said Hsu. “Even though this shooting is not racially motivated, the community suffers.”

The AAPI Crime Victims & Education Fund was born out of the tragedy in Atlanta and is now being used as a possible guide in Los Angeles, for organizations working to support victims’ families through tragedy.

“It is designed to pay things like car payments, those immediate needs that come up even though someone’s life has been disrupted by crime,” said Hsu.

The idea was to give the families some financial assistance to help them handle whatever needed to be done, the first month after the tragedy.

”What we realized was that there was no national fund that specifically addresses crime victims that are Asian American, in particular Asian American crime victims where there is some sort of racial animus,” said Hsu.

While funds like the AAPI Crime Victims and Education fund might have been created because of violence, they exist to inspire, support, to come alongside families in the face of violence.

“To have an act of incredible violence happen in Los Angeles in the midst of a Lunar New Year Celebration, is very very jarring for our community,” said Hsu.

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