HELP 2006 (Year 2) Subgrantees

Since 1989, APSARA has served more than 1000 Park Village low-income residents by providing affordable housing and decent programs that fit their social and economical needs. And now it is very exciting that APSARA's Board is willing to expand services into neighborhood communities such as: Manchester, Kentfield & Bianchi, and Carrington Circle apartment complexes. With the strong partnership with the Public Health (Stockton), Lao Family, Community Partnership for Family, People and Congregation Together, schools, Police Department (Stockton), and other agencies, APSARA has served more than one thousand Cambodian and Hmong families living in the aforementioned communities.

• Staff will obtain training on program development, civic engagement activities and leadership development for seniors.
• Staff would establish support groups for the resident seniors that foster cooperation and mutual assistance. Leader of the support group will be selected at the time to of formation, and the seniors will build a network system within their group that leads to greater independence.
• They will share their phone, take turns assisting with transportation needs, and contact each other for anyone who needs help.
• They will also be involved in the planning process associated with weekly activities program.

FIRM, Inc. is a faith-based, 501-c3 organization with the mission of sharing Christ’s love to build communities of hope with New Americans. U.S. welfare reforms of 1996 were a climax of hopelessness for refugee elders in California who had already face challenges of role transition, loss of respect, unemployment, physical and mental problems, isolation, lack of transportation, and extreme poverty since their arrival in the United States. FIRM’s “Grandparent’s Voice’ project, funded through a mini-grant from Fresno-Madera Area Agency on regularly confessed their fears and loneliness and almost daily resigned, “I think I just kill myself.” Indeed, at least 10 refugee elder suicides were reported in California within coming months due to anxieties over welfare reform, including one in Fresno during August of 1997.

• Gain additional skill, training and strength in civic participation enabling them to form coalitions with each other and with the broader community to address pressing housing and health issues that particularly impact Southeast Asian Elders.
• Train Hmong/Lao staff and director on PICO community organizing model.
• Staff will work with neighborhoods to identify elder community leaders, who themselves will also then be sent to national community organizing training.
• Sustain transportation support for elders so that they may participate in community organizing events as well as come to FIRM office for on going services. (Green Card, Citizenship, SSI advocacy and other support)
• Expand the partnership with senior employment programs, such as retired Senior Volunteers, Senior Companions, and Foster Grandparent program which has offered employment to Hmong, Cambodian, and Slavic elders to like them with FIRM’s existing preschool program.

The National Lao-American Community and Economic Development (NLACED) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 to provide services and advocate for the rights and well being of Lao American and to encourage small business development to accommodate the community’s interests.

• Strengthen capacity of the organization to meet the pressing needs of Lao community living in Fresno.
• To build healthy community through providing information on preventative health issues to older Lao adults.
• Train staff and volunteers to in order to be effective advocate for access to healthcare for older Lao adults.

Stone Soup Fresno is a non-profit organization based in Fresno, California with the mission to promote the Education, Health, Culture and Civic Engagement of Southeast Asian families in Fresno. Stone Soup provides services that utilize a holistic and culture-base approach to promote the social well-being, physical and mental health of Lao, Hmong, and Cambodian elderly population by ameliorating the stress of transitioning and acculturation to a new culture so that they are able to actively engage in mainstream society.

Stone Soup’s goals in the HELP project are to:

• Improve and sustain the leadership capacity of current staff working directly to facilitate the services provided to our elderly population.
• Train and develop staff skills to effectively engage in and advocate on behalf of the elder population at the local and state levels.
• Expand organizational capacity to partner with other organizations to effectively develop and link senior care/aging services to meet the needs of the aging Southeast Asian population.
• Establish and strength collaborative efforts among local Southeast Asian serving organizations and non-Southeast Asian groups to increase aging services and policies impacting the local Southeast Asian elder population.