ST. PAUL, Minn. — May is Mental Health Awareness month , but it's also Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
The two have collided in recent years as many Asian communities have been forced to set aside the stigma to address a growing problem. In the Hmong community , suicide deaths among youth — especially boys — are alarming. Kou Xiong and Mee Yang know the pain all too well after their son Max died by suicide in 2021.
"It never gets any easier," Xiong said. "It never gets any easier." Xiong said every day is all about not giving up hope.
"Every day I still have to tell myself not today," he said. "Not today." Yang said it's just as tough for her in Woodbury.
"I'm going to live with his lost forever," she said. Both Xiong and Yang said they are still brokenhearted and long for the simplest things. "Him calling me dad," Xiong said when asked what he missed most about his son.
"I miss everything," Yang said. "I miss him coming to me and giving me hugs." Both said they wished Max was still here.
"It's something you don't see coming," Xiong said. This June 17 will mark three years since Max died by suicide. He was just 17 years old.
"A parent's worst nightmare," Xiong said. "Stuff that you are afraid to even fathom and think." Three years later, Xiong still visit's Max's room every day.
"I still tell him good morning," he said. "I still tell him goodnight before I go to bed. This is how he left it and it's still like this.
" And Yang is still brought to tears wit.
