Over the past year, the Coalition for Community Safety and Justice has provided direct victims support for 83 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) victims and survivors. Through CYC’s team of case managers and victims advocates, our role has always been to center victims and survivors by providing in-language, culturally competent care with professionals that meet the needs of those impacted. This support includes direct assistance from our victims fund, regular wellness checks, hospital visits, legal aid, mental health services and more.
Two of the 83 victims we’ve supported in the last year are Yanfang Wu, a 63-year-old Chinese woman who was shoved to the ground while waiting at a bus stop and later succumbed to her injuries in July 2023, and a 71-year-old Chinese woman who was injured in an unprovoked attack earlier this month on March 4th. CCSJ can confirm that the latter survivor is recovering from her injuries and the shock of the incident with support from her family.
Through recent media reports, sources have said that these two cases may have the same person of interest, which has led to the SF Police Department (SFPD) to reopen the July 2023 case.
CCSJ joins the community in calling for a full investigation of the July 2023 fatal incident. As we were supporting Mrs. Wu’s family, there was little information shared as it took seven more weeks for the SFPD to formally close the case, ruling it as an accident. We believe a full investigation is a requirement for centering victims and their families in addressing the harm they face, and we ask that the SFPD and the District Attorney’s office work hand in hand with the victims and their families of both cases to provide all the information they can.
Unfortunately, CCSJ knows that the experiences these two victims and their families faced are not unique. No one should have to struggle through hardship alone, which is why we know that CYC’s victim services program and other community-based direct service providers play a critical role in supporting survivors, victims and their families.
We call upon the SFPD, the DA’s office and our City leaders to increase their engagement with the community by providing a venue for direct service providers and the victims they support to ask questions, understand what information they are entitled to during the investigation period, and explain what the process is supposed to look like. This is what victim-centered and community-informed care looks like.
We believe that everyone deserves to feel safe in our communities, and when harm occurs, we want to make sure we have the resources to care for ourselves and our families. As a commitment to our communities, CCSJ will continue to do our part in putting victims and survivors first.
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As a collaboration between Community Youth Center, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Chinatown Community Development Center, and Chinese Progressive Association, CCSJ is reimagining personal and community safety for AAPI communities in San Francisco. Each of our partner organizations have been rooted in the community for over 50 years and we are collectively working with local and state governments to strengthen San Francisco’s community safety infrastructure.
If you or someone you know is an Asian victim of a recent crime or serious incident, you can immediately seek services by calling or texting Community Youth Center’s outreach staff at (415) 550-1151 or email victimsupport@cycsf.org. Our team is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, Toishanese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai and Tagalog.
