June 18, 2010
National CAPACD News - June 2010
- SAVE THE DATE! National CAPACD’s 11th Annual Convention to be hosted in Washington, DC – September 26 – 29, 2010
- Call for National CAPACD 11th Annual Convention Workshop Proposals
- From the Hill: National CAPACD’s Community in the Capital Participants Meet with National Policymakers to Promote Sustainable Community Strategies
- From the Hill: National CAPACD Executive Director, Lisa Hasegawa addresses Congressional staff on the topic of Women of Color and the Wealth Gap
- News from the Field: National CAPACD and local partners continue to address the Foreclosure Crisis across the nation
- News from the Field: National CAPACD ACTION Technical Assistance Program supports the Guam Communications Network in developing an economic needs assessment for the Pacific Islander communities of Southern California
- National CAPACD Staff News
- National CAPACD Welcomes its Summer Interns
1) SAVE THE DATE! National CAPACD’s 11th Annual Convention to be hosted in Washington, DC – September 26 – 29, 2010
2) Call for National CAPACD 11th Annual Convention Workshop Proposals
National CAPACD invites proposals for workshops to be presented at our 11th Annual Convention, Building Community in a Multiracial Nation, which will be held in Washington, D.C. on September 26-29, 2010. We have a limited number of openings for member-initiated workshops to present ‘street-tested’ project ideas relevant to the work of others across the country. Preference will be given to collaborative proposals that address one or more of the following priority areas:
• Successful efforts to make housing or community development policies more inclusive and equitable
• Practices that help nonprofit organizations be more innovative and responsive to community change
• Multiethnic or multiracial organizing
All proposals for workshops should be emailed to Gen Fujioka at no later than June 30, 2010 and should not exceed 500 words in length. Please identify the proposed panelists and their roles, the relationship of the topic to one of the above priority areas, and the project or practice’s outcomes. If you have a partial concept for a workshop (e.g., a presentation idea that still needs to be matched with others to make a full panel) submit your idea and we will determine if we can assist in the development of a panel. Selected workshop presenters will be eligible for registration waivers and possible travel assistance.
3) From the Hill: National CAPACD’s Community in the Capital Participants Meet with National Policymakers to Promote Sustainable Community Strategies
As part of National CAPACD’s 4th annual Community in the Capital leadership and policy training program, fourteen housing and community development leaders convened with national policymakers from May 23-26, 2010 to highlight critical issues impacting low-income Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities across the country.
Participants from Hawaii, California, Washington, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania shared with national advocates and policymakers models of sustainable community and economic development for both historic and emerging low-income AAPI communities in metropolitan areas. Discussions focused on strategies to ensure AAPI and immigrant communities are included in new federal initiatives and policies geared towards developing affordable housing for low-income families, preserving affordable rental developments, developing senior housing, protecting tenants in the midst of the foreclosure crisis, and creating sustainable communities.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Deputy Secretary Ron Sims and Kiran Ahuja, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on AAPIs, hosted a historic meeting with AAPI leaders to kick off HUD’s participation in the federal-wide initiative to improve the quality of life of AAPIs where they are underserved. Community in the Capitol participants raised issues pertaining to major HUD initiatives, including housing counseling, mitigating the losses of the foreclosure crisis, community planning and development, and sustainable communities. HUD Assistant Secretary Mercedes Marquez also met with the Community in the Capitol participants to discuss her priorities under her purview in HUD’s Community Planning and Development division.
“HUD’s tremendous response in holding significant conversations with our community leaders demonstrates the Administration’s commitment to equity and inclusivity. We thank Kiran Ahuja for her steadfast leadership on behalf of our communities. National CAPACD is excited to have access to such high-level officials such as Deputy Secretary Sims and Assistant Secretary Marquez, and be assured that our needs are being heard, and that we can be included in any solutions moving forward,” says Lisa Hasegawa, Executive Director of the national advocacy coalition.
Participants also met with Congressional offices from several districts and states (including Speaker Pelosi’s office), the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and nationally-recognized leaders to represent the needs of AAPI communities nation-wide.
Held in conjunction with Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Community in the Capital participants were also honored guests at a special White House reception featuring President Obama. National CAPACD member organizational leader Father Vien Nguyen of Mary Queen of Vietnam CDC gave opening remarks at the reception, and introduced the President.
Community in the Capital participants included: Genna Byrd, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement; Janelle Chan, Asian Community Development Corporation; John Chin, Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation; Phuong Do, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center; Karoleen Feng, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation; Jeff Gilbreath, Hawaiian Community Assets; Hyeok Kim, Inter*im Community Development Association; Jeremy Liu, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation; Kei Nagao, Little Tokyo Service Center; Rosalee Puaoi, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement; Shan Rehman, Chhaya CDC; Nenick Vu, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center; Cindy Wu, Chinatown Community Development Center; Malcolm Yeung, Chinatown Community Development Center.
National CAPACD thanks Southwest Airlines for their continued support of the organization and commitment to leadership development, without which, this convening in DC would not have been possible.
For more information about Community in the Capital, please contact Gen Fujioka, Senior Policy Analyst at 510-452-4800 or .
4) From the Hill: National CAPACD Executive Director, Lisa Hasegawa addresses Congressional staff on the topic of Women of Color and the Wealth Gap
On June 14, 2010 a legislative staff briefing was held by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development on the newly released report, “Lifting as We Climb: Women of Color, Wealth and America’s Future.” The report found that the disparities of wealth and assets are greater among women of color who “own only a penny of wealth for every dollar owned by their same-race male counterparts and only a fraction of a penny for every dollar owned by white women.”
Among other things, the report found that Asian Americans have a higher median net worth than white non-Hispanic households. However, much of this is due to their home equity, when considering that Asian Americans are concentrated in a few cities with very high home values. When also factoring in that Asian Americans households are likely owned and occupied with extended family members and are more likely than whites to contribute more than half of their household income to housing costs, Asians have less wealth than whites on similar socioeconomic characteristics.
During her presentation, National CAPACD Executive Director Lisa Hasegawa pointed out that with limited data available on Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) populations, the wealth disparities among the various AAPI communities are overlooked. Without data disaggregated by subpopulations, the prevalence of poverty and the struggles that low-income individuals face in our communities is underemphasized. It is a flawed perception with implications for our communities when policymakers discuss and develop wealth and asset building policies.
Challenging those beliefs, Hasegawa shared examples of AAPI communities across the nation who are suffering due to home foreclosures, especially where there are large AAPI populations in areas hard hit by the crisis – places such as Jackson Heights, New York, and California’s central valley. She also highlighted issues concerning tenants and renters who have been displaced from the homes they are renting or are living in illegally-converted housing units such as garages and basements. Additionally, she spoke about the plight of immigrant women, specifically undocumented immigrants, who lack financial options and access to capital because of their legal status.
Other speakers included Avis Jones-De Weever from the National Council of Negro Women; Jacqueline Johnson Pata, the Executive Director of the National Congress of American Indians; and Aracely Panameno, the Director of the Latino Affairs Center for Responsible Lending.
The panelists suggested several solutions to address the wealth disparities among gender and racial groups, including placing a stronger emphasis on programs such as micro-lending initiatives that serve women of color; conducting more research and analysis on underserved groups such as Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders; pushing the government to go beyond providing the minimum benefits of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to a more comprehensive asset building strategy; advocating the use of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as a vehicle for building assets and increasing financial education programs among low income communities; and ensuring that social security continues to play a vital role in protecting low income minority womens’ assets and wealth.
5) News from the Field: National CAPACD and local partners continue to address the Foreclosure Crisis across the nation
On June 5, 2010, National CAPACD and our local affiliates – Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON), Thai Community Development Center (Thai CDC), Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), and the Korean Resource Center (KRC)-- hosted nearly 200 participants at a Home Rescue Fair in La Puente, CA that was organized by the Alliance for Stabilizing our Communities in collaboration with the Office of Congresswoman Grace Napolitano and the Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services.
As part of the Alliance for Stabilizing our Communities, National CAPACD, National Council of La Raza, the National Urban League, and Bank of America have been hosting Home Rescue Fairs in areas throughout the country that have been heavily impacted by the current foreclosure crisis. These fairs provide an opportunity for borrowers who are either on the verge or in the midst of foreclosure to speak with housing counselors, legal aides, loan specialists, servicers, and other industry experts in order to make informed decisions about the options available to them.
Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) households traveled from all over the Los Angeles region to attend the event, and accounted for 21% of fair attendees. Along with National CAPACD’s local affiliates and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California, representatives from Citi, Chase, Saxon, Wells Fargo/Wachovia, and Bank of America provided fair attendees with housing counseling services in Thai, Korean, Chinese, Tagalog, and Spanish.
Having tried unsuccessfully to go through the loan re-modification process alone in the past, many of the AAPI attendees sought guidance from a housing counselor for the first time at the Home Rescue Fair. While some homeowners were able to see their servicers that same day, others needed more documents and counseling before reaching out to their servicers. After providing initial intake and assessment for the attendees at the fair, housing counselors will follow-up to ensure that the specific housing issues of each household are resolved using the best options available.
National CAPACD will be collaborating with its partners for another Alliance Foreclosure Rescue Fair in Southern California to be held in October 2010. Details will be forthcoming.
6) News from the Field: National CAPACD ACTION Technical Assistance Program supports the Guam Communications Network in developing an economic needs assessment for the Pacific Islander communities of Southern California
Under our 2009-2010 ACTION Technical Assistance (TA) Program, National CAPACD is helping to build the capacity of Guam Communications Network (GCN) and five other Community-Based Organizations to engage in community development in emerging communities. As described below with GCN, each ACTION TA plan is specifically tailored to the needs and aspirations of the assisted organization.
Founded in 1993 and based in the Southern California city of Long Beach, GCN is the preeminent cultural and service organization for Chamorros living on the mainland United States. GCN has provided a number of cultural and social service programs including the first ever Chamorro Arts and Cultural Center and the first ever Chamorro tobacco control and HIV/AIDS programs in the United States. GCN currently operates over twelve different cultural enrichment and social service programs that are designed to encompass cultural promotion & preservation, health & welfare, community-based cancer research, senior care management, tobacco education & cessation/prevention services, HIV/AIDS/Hepatitis B education, youth leadership & advocacy development and free & low cost insurance enrollment application services.
GCN staff members have heard many anecdotal reports that Chamorro and other Pacific Islander populations in Southern California are facing especially hard times during the recent economic downturn, particularly with problems around foreclosures, evictions and job losses. While GCN has provided for a wide array of community needs over its 16+ year history, it has not engaged directly in formal community development activities such as affordable housing or economic development. Given the scope and depth of the current economic crisis, GCN is seeking to assess the impact of the crisis on its community and to possibly initiate community development programming to address newly identified needs.
Through National CAPACD’s ACTION TA Program, GCN is working with the Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team (APAIT) and Dr. Lois Takahashi (Professor of Urban Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles) to design and implement an economic/community development needs assessment of the Southern California Pacific Islander population. The central instrument to this study is a survey that will be completed by at least 200 community members. At the midterm of the ACTION TA period, GCN had completed development of the survey, started testing the survey on smaller focus groups and was preparing to distribute the survey more broadly.
For more information on National CAPACD’s Technical Assistance programs, please contact Josh Ishimatsu, Technical Assistance Program Manager at .
We would like to welcome Melvin Tabilas, our Membership and Policy Associate, as the newest member of the National CAPACD team! Melvin was most recently a Legislative Assistant for Congressman Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii, advising the Congressman on legislative matters pertaining to transportation, agriculture, taxes, budget, appropriations, trade, immigration, tourism, labor, small business, the Asian Pacific Islander community, and other issues. He also worked previously as a Field Deputy for Congressman Xavier Becerra of California and a Field Representative for California State Senator Debra Bowen. Melvin has a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Melvin is based in our Washington, DC office, and may be contacted at .
8) National CAPACD Welcomes its Summer Interns
National CAPACD is pleased to welcome our interns for Summer 2010. Our interns will gain hands-on experience of working with AAPI communities right in the heart of our nation’s capital.
Andrew Chang is a rising second-year graduate student from Jackson, Florida pursuing a Master of Arts in Political Science with a concentration in Public Affairs at the University of Florida. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2008. Andrew is active in the AAPI community both at the collegiate and national level. Having previously interned with the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2009, he now turns his focus to housing and community development issues as it relates to the AAPI community during his internship at National CAPACD. Andrew hopes to gain an in-depth intricate experience of community activism and how policy plays a role. In the future, he hopes to serve the AAPI community at the national non-profit level or with a federal agency.
Linda Poon is a rising sophomore majoring in Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park after graduating from Mount Hebron High School in Maryland. She became involved in serving the AAPI communities after joining the Asian American Student Union (AASU) Freshmen Council at her college. There, she helped plan events like the annual APA Film Festival and last year’s APA’s Got Talent to promote AAPI awareness. Linda is also part of the writing staff for PublicAsian, a student-run monthly newspaper sponsored by AASU that serves as the voice for the AAPI community on campus. As the PublicAsian Liaison for the upcoming school year, Linda will be the middleman between AASU and PublicAsian. Linda hopes that her studies, along with her internship at National CAPACD, will provide her with the experience needed to address some of the most important issues impacting the AAPI communities.
Candace Won is a junior majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Global Poverty and Practice at the University of California, Berkeley. For the last two years, she has been involved with the CalPIRG chapter on campus as part of the Environmental Justice Campaign, mainly focusing on issues related to the Port of Oakland. She is also an active leader within the Regents and Chancellor’s Scholarship Association, in which she directs a peer mentorship program and plans events as coordinator of the Peer Advising Committee. Because of her interests in both politics and business, she has interned at the California State Controller John Chiang’s Office in Los Angeles, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez’s Campaign Office in Santa Ana, and the Merrill Lynch Office in San Francisco. As a 2010 OCA Summer Intern, she will also be working at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. As an Asian American woman, she is very interested in working with organizations that address political and social issues related to women of color and emerging AAPI communities.
