Power in Unity: Why Community is the Antidote to Stress 

On third spaces, solidarity, and the science of belonging during Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Written by Ellen Bee, LCPC, PMH-C

The beginning of May marks the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, a time to honor the histories, cultures, and contributions of communities whose histories stretch across continents. This month’s theme, Power in Unity: Strengthening Communities Together, reminds us of the importance of leaning on the people, places, and practices that build solidarity and sustain us (Federal Asian Pacific American Council, 2026). In our current climate, it is more important than ever to recognize the rich histories and enduring ways in which AANHPI communities have found solace in sharing. Whether through meals, language, stories, rituals, and the generational traditions that are lovingly carried forward and kept alive.

That spirit of sharing is not simply a cultural custom. It is a form of resistance, resilience, and belonging. For AANHPI communities, sharing has long been woven into the fabric of daily life, expressed through the gathering spaces, communal practices, and everyday rituals that became the basis of belonging. These were the places and moments where people figured out who they were, especially when the dominant culture offered no acknowledgement or mirror.

The Third Place: A Brief History

The concept of the “third place” was introduced by sociologist Ray Oldenburg in his 1989 book The Great Good Place (Oldenburg, 1989). Oldenburg observed that healthy social lives depend on three distinct environments: the home (first place), the workplace (second place), and the informal gathering spots that exist outside both, the third place. Common examples include barbershops, coffee shops, libraries, laundromats, temples, hair salons, and community gardens. Third places, Oldenburg argued, share a set of defining qualities. They are accessible and accommodating, conversation is the main activity, they have regulars who anchor the space, and the mood is playful. Importantly, they are free or inexpensive to enter. Oldenburg was writing about American civic life, but the phenomenon he described is ancient and cross-cultural. Long before the term existed, AANHPI communities were constructing their own versions of it wherever they landed.

Today, public health researchers are returning to Oldenburg’s framework with fresh understanding. After years of social fragmentation accelerated by the pandemic, the digital migration of social life, and the closure of community anchors, there is growing recognition that the loss of third places is not just a nostalgic inconvenience, it is a public health crisis. Researchers have found that third places buffer against loneliness, stress, and social alienation, and called for urgent investigation into their role in reducing health disparities (Finlay et al., 2019; Klinenberg, 2018). AANHPI Heritage Month offers us a timely moment to ask what it would mean to rebuild and protect them.

The Science of Belonging: How Connection Buffers Stress

The idea that community is good for us is not just a saying, it is one of the most replicated findings in behavioral science (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010). A growing body of evidence tells us that social connection is a fundamental human need, as biological as food and sleep, and that its absence registers in the body as a form of threat (Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008). The following four evidence-based domains illustrate why community can serve as a genuine antidote to stress.

Social Support Regulates the Stress Response

As mammals, being socially connected to caregivers is necessary for survival. In fact, the brain’s physiological and neurological reactions are directly shaped by social interaction (Eisenberger, 2013). When people feel excluded, activity in the dorsal portion of the anterior cingulate cortex (front region of your brain responsible for regulating cognitive and emotional functions) lights up the neural region involved in the distress components of pain or what is sometimes referred to as the “suffering” part of pain. As such, social connection buffers against the consequences of stress and isolation by engaging psychological and neural mechanisms, including dampening cortisol release and amygdala activation. Even the anticipation of social support has measurable calming effects (Delgado et al., 2023).

Shared Identity Buffers Against Discrimination Stress

For AANHPI individuals who face racism and microaggressions, strong ethnic identity and community belonging act as psychological buffers. A 2024 report by AAPI Data and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research found that AANHPI adults report significant mental health needs, yet access culturally responsive care at far lower rates than other groups, underscoring the critical role that community connection plays as an informal support system (AAPI Data & UCLA CHPR, 2024). Research also consistently finds that people with robust ties to their cultural community report lower rates of depression and anxiety, even when exposed to high levels of discrimination (Yip et al., 2008).

Collective Coping is a Culturally Embedded Strength

Dominant Western models of coping tend to emphasize individual strategies but for many AANHPI communities, collective and relational coping can be a powerful stress-regulation strategy. This can take the form of cooking together, gathering for ritual, or maintaining intergenerational bonds. Research shows it works, and that cultural congruence in coping matters (Kim et al., 2008). Read more about evidence-based tips to strengthen resilience in AANHPI communities here.  

What these findings point to is something AANHPI communities have long understood intuitively: that we are stronger together. This year’s AANHPI Heritage Month theme asks us to lean into that truth. It also asks us to look around and identify the third places that already exist in our communities and to tend to them. To show up for the community dinners, the cultural festivals, the intergenerational storytelling circles, and the neighborhood associations.

This AANHPI Heritage Month, may you find or create a third place that holds you. And may you remember that your presence in community is itself an act of care, for yourself and for everyone who shares the room.

Online Resources & Organizations

• Asian American Psychological Association (AAPA): www.aapaonline.org. Resources on mental health, advocacy, and research specific to Asian American communities.
• National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA): www.naffaa.org. Advocacy, community building, and civic engagement across Filipino American communities nationwide.
• Pacific Islander Health Partners: https://pihpoc.org/. Health equity resources and advocacy centering Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.
• Stop AAPI Hate: https://stopaapihate.org/. Research, reporting, and community resources addressing anti-Asian and anti-Pacific Islander hate and discrimination.

References

AAPI Data & UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. (2024). Piecing the puzzle of AANHPI mental health: A community analysis of mental health experiences of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in California. https://aapidata.com/reports/2024-mental-health-report/

Delgado, M. R., Fitzsimmons-Craft, E. E., & Cisler, J. M. (2023). Characterizing the mechanisms of social connection. Neuron, 111(24), 3911–3925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2023.09.012

Federal Asian Pacific American Council. (2026). AANHPI Heritage Month 2026: Power in unity: Strengthening communities together. https://fapac.org/AAPI-Resources

Finlay, J., Esposito, M., Kim, M. H., Gomez-Lopez, I., & Clarke, P. (2019). Closure of ‘third places’? Exploring potential consequences for collective health and wellbeing. Health & Place, 60, 102225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.102225

Kim, H. S., Sherman, D. K., & Taylor, S. E. (2008). Culture and social support. American Psychologist, 63(6), 518–526. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.63.6.518

Klinenberg, E. (2018). Palaces for the people: How social infrastructure can help fight inequality, polarization, and the decline of civic life. Crown

Oldenburg, R. (1989). The great good place: Cafés, coffee shops, community centers, beauty parlors, general stores, bars, hangouts, and how they get you through the day. Paragon House.

Yip, T., Gee, G. C., & Takeuchi, D. T. (2008). Racial discrimination and psychological distress: The impact of ethnic identity and age among immigrant and United States-born Asian adults. Developmental Psychology, 44(3), 787–800. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.44.3.787