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| National CAPACD E-Newsletter March 2007 |
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Contents:
1) Community Development Training Fund - Applications Due April 5th!
2) National CAPACD Convenes First Community in the CAAPITAL
3) HUD's Limited English Proficiency Guidance
4) Asian Pacific Americans Mobilize for Comprehensive Immigration Reform - April 30 - May 1, 2007!
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1) Community Development Training Fund -- Applications Due April 5th!
National
CAPACD’s Community Development Training Fund provides
scholarships of up to $500 for members to attend trainings and
conferences in the fields of housing, community and economic
development. The Training Fund was created to increase access to
training and learning opportunities for staff at member organizations
with operating budgets under $500,000. These scholarships may be
used to cover travel, accommodations, and registration fees at relevant
trainings and conferences. Don’t miss this opportunity to
support staff development at your organization!
The deadline for this round of applications is quickly approaching:
April 5, 2007. Apply today by visiting our website at
www.nationalcapacd.org!
For additional information or questions, please contact Nira Ly by emailing nira@nationalcapacd.org.
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2) National CAPACD Convenes First Community in the CAAPITAL
Last month, eight National CAPACD members joined us in
Washington, DC to discuss the issues facing their communities with
members of Congress, national partners and other community
advocates. Our first class of Community in the CAAPITAL
participants shared their experiences, enhanced their lobbying and
advocacy skills and addressed a wide range of issues, including housing
for domestic violence survivors, the community development needs of
Native Hawaiians, employment of our elders and empowering youth in
housing and community development.
As part of the program, participants met with their Members of Congress
and Congressional staffers, and engaged with national community
development and Asian Pacific American organizations.
Participants attended the conference of the National Low Income Housing
Coalition, and helped us to honor Doris Koo, one of National
CAPACD’s founders and the new President and CEO of Enterprise
Community Partners. The program closed with an intimate luncheon
with Congressman Michael Honda, Chair of the Congressional Asian
Pacific American Caucus.
Community in the CAAPITAL participants had incredibly
positive responses to this unique opportunity to convene and advocate
on behalf of low income Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders:
“I have learned a lot from my fellow participants.” – Ricky Lam, Chinese American Service League, Chicago
“Thank you for coordinating a productive and useful
program. This will definitely impact my work as we move
forward.” – Michelle Kauhane, Hawaii Community Lending,
Honolulu
“I’ve found a new way to get involved!” –
SuJ’n Chon, International District Housing Alliance, Seattle
Finally, thank you to our program sponsors – the Ford Foundation,
Freddie Mac, Enterprise Community Partners and the National Association
of Realtors – and to all of our speakers, friends and partners
who provided their time and support to for helped us to launch
Community in the CAAPITAL!
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3) HUD’s Limited English Proficiency Guidance
National CAPACD is working with the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to increase resources for services
to persons with limited-English proficiency (LEP) and to highlight as
best practices LEP services provided by National CAPACD members.
Our efforts were launched following HUD’s recently published
guidance to assist housing providers in ensuring that LEP persons have
access to housing and understand housing documents. The guidance
went into effect on March 6, 2007.
The guidance was published in response to President Bush's commitment
to Executive Order (EO) 13166, "Improving Access to Services for
Persons with LEP," which requires all federal, local and state agencies
that receive federal funding to ensure that people with limited
language skills have meaningful access to government programs and
services. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which
prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national
origin in all HUD-assisted programs and its implementing regulations,
requires that housing providers take reasonable steps to ensure
meaningful access by LEP persons.
On February 28th, Board President Sue Taoka and National CAPACD staff
participated in a meeting at the HUD offices to encourage HUD to
translate more documents into AAPI languages and provide training for
recipients on how to explain and complete HUD documents. National
CAPACD is continuing to working with HUD, as well as with partner
organizations, to expand resources for LEP services and to emphasize
the best practices and vital services provided by many National CAPACD
members.
For more information or to get involved, please contact TC Duong.
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4) Asian Pacific Americans Mobilize for Comprehensive Immigration Reform – April 30 - May1, 2007!
Asian Pacific
Americans from across the country are coming to Washington DC April
30th-May 1st in an historic community mobilization for Comprehensive
Immigration Reform, entitled “Building America’s Future
Together: Immigration Reform Now!”
Sponsored by a
coalition 10 other National Asian Pacific American organizations,
including National CAPACD, this two day event will feature a rally at
the National Capitol and visits with Members of Congress on May 1st, as
well as an advocacy training session and community panel on the evening
of April 30th.
National CAPACD
is encouraging all of our members to come to Washington to participate
in this momentous event! Don’t miss this unique opportunity
to make our voices heard on this critical issue affecting our
communities.
If you are interested in participating or endorsing this event, please contact Nira Ly.
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