Post-disaster Organizing

Mary Queen of Vietnam Church CDC (MQVN) and National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies (NAVASA), New Orleans, LA: With an estimated 50,000 AAPIs affected in the Gulf Coast following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, including 30,000 Vietnamese displaced in New Orleans, MQVN, NAVASA and National CAPACD worked closely to support the formation of the region’s first AAPI community development corporation. In the next year, MQVN plans to break ground on an urban farm, have the inaugural class of their charter school and launch a small business lending program for businesses in Katrina affected areas.

Affordable Senior Housing

Korean Resource Center (KRC) and Little Tokyo Service Center CDC (LTSC), Los Angeles, CA: Combining KRC’s organizing expertise with design, feasibility and site acquisition assistance from LTSC, KRC is building their first affordable senior housing project. KRC successfully organized low-income Korean families to address and neutralize “NIMBY” opposition to the project. They are currently working together to solidify the project’s financing and complete the project design.

Housing Counseling

Chinese American Service League (CASL), Chicago, IL: CASL, an organization serving thousands of limited-English proficient families in Chicago’s Chinese community for 28 years, has worked with Douglas Ling, a National CAPACD consultant, to create a culturally and linguistically appropriate homeownership education program - the only Chinese-language homeownership program in Chicago. CASL was recently approved to be a HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency and plans to expand the program by training additional staff to become certified homeownership counselors. They are currently exploring the creation of IDA program and researching the feasibility of CASL engaging in affordable housing development.

Native Hawaiian Organizational Development

Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA), Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) and Hawaii Community Assets (HCA), Honolulu, HI: CNHA is supporting HCA’s and DHHL’s capacity to educate the Native Hawaiian community on foreclosure prevention and provide foreclosure mitigation counseling for residents living on Hawaiian Trust Lands, where resources are less accessible because data on loans made for Trust Land development are not collected by mainstream lenders. CNHA is working with HCA and DHHL to develop protocols and assessment forms for foreclosure counseling and developing community education materials.

Building Capacity for Development

Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) and Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association (CMAA), Lowell, MA: CMAA is working with ACDC to conduct a feasibility assessment as the initial step toward taking ownership of a 24-unit affordable housing development. The goal of the collaboration is both to preserve the development as affordable housing and to develop CMAA’s capacity in housing development. The partnership plans to identify more development opportunities to benefit the Cambodian community of Greater Lowell as the city undergoes a revitalization process.

Arts and Community Development

Bindlestiff Studio and South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN), San Francisco, CA: SOMCAN and Bindlestiff Studio, a Filipino American community theater facing displacement as a result of gentrification, came together to mobilize the South of Market community to support Bindlestiff Studios’ in rebuilding their theater space and engaged in city level advocacy to ensure community benefits for current residents. With a new lease and rebuilding underway, Bindlestiff is now strengthening their operations capacity, particularly exploring business models to ensure their sustainability.

Financial Education

Chhaya Community Development Corporation, Queens, NY, and Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP), New York, NY: Chhaya and NEDAP have developed a homeownership curriculum for the South Asian community and are creating a financial literacy curriculum for people who have more experience with credit and lending. Chhaya is translating the curriculums in Bengali and Urdu and producing an instructor’s manual. NEDAP and Chhaya are currently reviewing and revising the curriculum and instructor’s manual as well as completing the translations.

National Youth Collaborative

International District Housing Alliance, Seattle, WA; Asian Americans for Equality, New York, NY; Asian Community Development Corporation, Boston, MA; and Chinatown Community Development Corporation, San Francisco, CA: This collaborative brings together youth programs from across the country to share experiences, develop skills and discuss current community development issues. The collaborative is organizing a youth exchange program where youth from each organization will spend two weeks working with youth at a partner organization.