Southeast Asian Californian Healthy Elders Leadership Project (HELP)

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The Southeast Asian Californian Healthy Elders Leadership Project (HELP) seeks to build capacity and knowledge among mutual assistance associations (MAAs) and faith-based organizations (FBOs) providing social services to Southeast Asian seniors and their families. Through advocacy, leadership training, and capacity-building activities, HELP will bring needed attention and services to underserved seniors from Southeast Asia.

• Project Period
• Target Groups
• Goals
• Main Activities
• Funders
• Statewide Partnership

Project Period:

Target Groups:

The project targets California-based community organizations providing services to elders who trace their heritage from the Southeast Asian countries of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

Goals:

1. To improve the leadership capacity within MAA/FBO partners.
2. To improve the aging service capacity of MAA/FBO partners.
3. To increase the ability of MAA/FBO partners to access resources available for elder services.
4. To expand the ability of MAA/FBO partners to effectively address the needs of elder population.
5. To increase the ability of MAA/FBO partners to stimulate civic engagement at local and state levels.
6. To strengthen collaborative efforts among MAA/FBO partners and non-SEA groups in aging policy issues.

Main Activities:

1. Awards to MAA/FBO partners to support capacity-building activities.
2. Technical assistance provided to MAA/FBO partners by project staff members and state-wide partners, after collaborative assessments of needs and assets.
3. Leadership & Advocacy Training provided to MAA/FBO partners in Sacramento, CA.
4. Information-sharing with all grassroots partners through an e-mail listserv and a resource center on SEARAC’s website.
5. Publication of policy/research report at the end of the project.
6. Increase fundraising capacity of participating MAA/FBO organizations from previously un-accessed funders for elder services by the end of year three.

Funders:

This three-year project is being funded through the generous grants from The California Endowment and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).

Statewide Partnership:

California Health Advocates (CHA) engages in timely and responsive education and advocacy efforts on behalf of Medicare consumers and the pre-retirement population. The organization promotes the work of the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) in California, which serves some 4.1 million Medicare beneficiaries.

National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA) mission is to serve as the leading national advocacy organization committed to the dignity, well-being and quality of life of Asian Pacific Americans in their senior year. NAPCA's goals are to advocate on behalf of the APA aging community at the local, state, and national levels, to educate APA seniors and the general public on the unique needs of the APA aging community, and to empower APA seniors and the aging network to meet the increasing challenges facing the APA aging community.