Testimony devolved into shouting, which in turn devolved into threats of removal at a Madison City Council meeting Tuesday, as the debate over funding for a Hmong therapy program spilled into a public quarrel.
The previous Hmong therapy program, called Kasjiab House, closed in October after its operator, Journey Mental Health, said it did not have necessary funding to continue providing services.
After a large public response from the Southeast Asian community, the city gave $40,000 to Anesis Therapy to operate Kasjiab House through the end of 2018 with an additional $115,000 slated for 2019. The Dane County Board of Supervisors allocated an additional $460,000 to Anesis in their 2019 budget.
Kasjiab House provided therapy and mental health services for mostly elderly Hmong patients, many of whom came to the United States as refugees fleeing violence in Cambodia in the 1970s. Doctors who have worked with them told the council many struggle with PTSD as a result of the Cambodian genocide that killed over a million people from 1975 to 1979.
After the community successfully received the funding last year, the group involved with Kasjiab House split into two factions, one staying with Anesis while the other started their own therapy program, called the Southeast Asian Healing Center (SEAHC). The group that remained with Anesis established an organization called the Hmong Institute and revamped Kasjiab House into a new program named Hmong Kasjiab.
Supporters of the SEAHC, including many of the community’s elders, contend SEAHC’s program is the true successor of Kasjiab House and Anesis does not have their best interests in mind. They also said they did not know the doctors with Anesis and did not trust them.
Anesis employees countered with claims of patients telling them those with the SEAHC were harassing them for attending Anesis programs and threatened to have them arrested.
Dozens of community members testified in front of the city council in opposition to a resolution giving Anesis $115,000 for health services. They argued the money should instead go to the SEAHC, which they claim is the best organization to serve their needs. In January, more than 30 Southeast Asian elders signed a letter to the city, claiming Anesis cannot effectively serve their needs and supporting the SEAHC.
“You have dishonored us by giving these funds to someone else,” they wrote. “As survivors of war and other trauma, our community is used to being exploited and torn apart. Trust is a principle we highly value … Anesis has not been able to provide the services intended for us because we do not trust them and we will not go to them for services.”
Representatives of Anesis, including founder Myra McNair, also spoke and said accusations against them were not true. McNair claimed SEAHC head Doua Vang, former project manager of Kasjiab House, violated ethics standards by stealing client records after he resigned from Anesis’ program. She admitted her organization does not know the Hmong community as well as the SEAHC, but is nonetheless dedicated to serving them.
“I did not ask to be in this situation,” she said. “There’s a lot of intimidation.”
The public comment section erupted into anger, and Mayor Paul Soglin banged his gavel to call order, when local social justice organization Freedom, Inc. Co-Executive Director Kazbuag Vaj said he had been “strategic” in ordering speaking registrations to ensure Anesis supporters would speak last. Soglin said the registrations were in the order they were received, a claim Vaj said she did not believe.
Earlier in the night, Soglin had to ask Vaj to not interrupt other speakers, as she had interjected several times to show support. After two later objections, she was warned she would be removed if she interrupted again. She later left voluntarily.
An argument broke out between the two sides when Mai Zong Vue, board president of Hmong Institute, addressed allegations she and her husband Peng Her manipulated community members and were motivated only by profit.
“Do I look that bad, that crooked?” she asked. “What a liar I am, huh?”
Her comments prompted both sides to begin shouting at each other, forcing Council Vice President Ald. Sheri Carter, District 14, to demand order. Carter objected multiple times to speakers addressing members of the audience instead of the council. On several occasions, speakers openly argued with audience members.
Another point of controversy was the city’s appointed translators, who several community members claimed were not faithfully translating speakers’ words. Soglin defended the translators, saying they were hired by the city and were not biased.
During the council’s discussion, Soglin grew angry when members of the audience shouted “shame” when Ald. Barbara Harrington-McKinney, District 1, announced she would support Anesis receiving the money. He threatened to clear the room of all audience members if they could not refrain from speaking out of turn. When an audience member waved her hand at Soglin and sarcastically urged him to continue, he and city attorney Mike May shot her an extended look then moved on.
Multiple speakers lamented how ugly an argument over healthcare for their elders had become, a sentiment echoed by members of the council.
“It is painful to witness this very public split,” Harrington-McKinney said. “How did we get here?”
The council finally voted to put the funding up for a bidding process, allowing SEAHC, Anesis and potentially other vendors to make competing bids for the money. Only Harrington-McKinney voted against the motion.
The meeting did not leave Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, optimistic about the chance of reconciliation between the two sides. He said he was worried about the chance of a repeat of the public bickering when the bidding process comes to an end.
“I’ve been to a lot of bad meetings,” Verveer, a 24-year veteran of the council, said. “This ranks right up there.”
