Quiz 2: These Asian American women are chaperoning others who feel unsafe

An increase in anti-Asian attacks in the San Francisco Bay Area in California last February left Jess Owyoung feeling sad. Then that sadness turned into outrage.

"I felt like it could have happened to my grandparents," she said. Owyoung, who is 37 years old, is a fourth-generation Chinese American who lives in the Bay Area.

She already felt traumatized by news stories she'd seen about the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes across the country over the past year. When someone is traumatized they feel shocked and emotionally disturbed by an experience. Knowing that similar violent acts had happened just a few miles from her home left her with a sick feeling. "I felt an urgency to do something," Owyoung explained.

However, she did not know how best to help. A few days later, Owyoung found an answer when she saw a social media post by Jacob Azevedo of Oakland, California. Azevedo, who is 26 years old, offered on Instagram to bring his dog and walk with anyone in Oakland's Chinatown neighborhood to help them feel safe.

Owyoung immediately reached out to Azevedo. She offered to help Azevedo coordinate a team of volunteers to help Asian Americans feel more safe. These volunteers now accompany Oakland-area Asian Americans to and from work, doctor's appointments and the grocery store. After meeting online, Owyoung and three others came up with the idea for Compassion in Oakland to protect people in Chinatown and beyond from anti-Asian violence.

As of April, more than 2,000 people have applied to be volunteers. The group has received hundreds of requests for chaperones.

"Feet On The Streets"

Compassion in Oakland is just one of many grassroots organizations that have sprung up in response to the rise in anti-Asian violence. Since the onset of the pandemic, hate crimes against Asian Americans are up 150 percent. Many Asian Americans are experiencing great sadness after the March 16 spa shootings in Atlanta, Georgia. The shootings killed eight people, including six Asian women.  As a result, many people feel there's never been a more urgent moment to act.

Since February, Compassion in Oakland volunteers have worked to fill chaperone requests submitted online. On weekends, group members meet in Oakland's Chinatown to get the word out about their service.

"We call it 'Feet on the Streets,'" said Katrina Ramos, 26 years old, one of Compassion in Oakland's co-founders. Ramos explained, "My dad is from the Philippines and my mom is Chinese from Vietnam. To see people now getting attacked while they're out shopping or going to the bank is really unacceptable and upsetting."

Ramos has been devoting about 10 hours a day to coordinating volunteers. She also has served as a chaperone herself. 

"It's rewarding to walk with people and hear their stories and to help them feel safe as they go about their day," she said. "A lot of people live alone and haven't been out much during the pandemic. This might be the only interaction they have all week."

Cab Rides Added To Safety Programs

There is also an option for people who cannot walk or need to travel longer distances.

Kye Perrot is a small-business operations consultant from Santa Clara, California. She recently launched Cali Kye Cab on Instagram. This service can assist Asian Americans who do not feel safe taking public transportation but cannot afford a cab.

Perrot, who is Korean American, was inspired to launch a fundraising effort for cab fare by New York City's Maddy Park. Park used $2,000 of her own money to pay for cabs for Asian Americans who felt unsafe. Park then raised $100,000 for cab rides.

By using Cali Kye Cab, Asian Americans who need a lift in the Bay Area can fill out a request for a cab. Later, they are reimbursed through Venmo. Perrot used $1,000 of her savings to get the program started and is now accepting donations. Since establishing Cali Kye Cab, Perrot has paid for more than 100 taxi rides. 

"When I started hearing the stories of these attacks, it broke my heart and I wanted a personal way to pay it forward," she said. 

With anti-Asian attacks continuing in the U.S., Perrot and volunteers with Compassion in Oakland know their work is not complete. Ramos has heard from some elderly Asian Americans that they have been harassed while riding the city bus. Compassion in Oakland is considering having volunteers accompany bus riders.

"I Am Very Appreciative Of The Volunteers"

"What's happening in America right now is absolutely awful, but we're determined to get people safely from Point A to Point B," Ramos said.

She and other volunteers are humbled when they receive grateful comments on social media.

"I was chaperoned home this afternoon from my grocery shopping trip to Chinatown," wrote one woman. "I am very appreciative of the volunteers named Michael and Adley who walked home with me, and the conversation about jobs and lifestyles. They even offered to help me carry my bags of groceries."

Owyoung said she would be honored to walk again with any of the people she has met through Compassion in Oakland. "A lot of the elderly Asian people I have met are survivors," she said. "They've been through many rough things in life — racism is not new to them. The conversations I've had with them are honest and rewarding, and it's uplifting to help them."