National CAPACD Newsletter: September 2012

Posted on September 26, 2012, 4:10pm

NCAPA Platform Release

Last Thursday, the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), a coalition of 31 national AAPI-serving organizations, released its2012 Policy Platform. Every four years, NCAPA develops and presents a comprehensive set of policy recommendations related to the AA & NHPI community in the issue areas of Civil Rights, Education, Health, Housing and Economic Justice, and Immigration. NCAPA's Housing and Economic Justice committee, co-chaired by National CAPACD and the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) have put forth recommendations regarding:

1. Community development and affordable rental housing and homeownership

2. Consumer protection, asset building, and financial security

3. Job development and workforce protections

Please view the full policy platform for more details.

NCAPA hopes that this document can inform candidates today and policymakers in the next four years about the opportunities and challenges facing the AA & NHPI community.

National CAPACD Civic Engagement Project

This year, National CAPACD launched a pilot Civic Engagement project with a core set of local community-based organizations and national partners to mobilize Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders around the country to vote. The project provides funding, training, and technical assistance to 25 partner organizations in 14 states. National CAPACD partners are coordinating multi-faceted projects; from voter registration, voter education, and Get Out The Vote activities to leadership development and generating media attention on the role of AAPIs in the 2012 elections. National CAPACD partners are also participating in the Home for Good campaign, a joint effort between National CAPACD and other national organizations to raise awareness and mobilize grassroots community members around housing policy issues.

There are 16 million AAPIs making up 5% of the total U.S. population. There has been a 46% increase in population growth since 2000. Sadly however, the overwhelming myth that all AAPIs have succeeded economically and professionally ignores the reality of an underserved and ignored community in today’s policy debates. Yet, the potential for growth exists. The AAPI citizen voting age population has increased in the last 10 years by more than 100,000 in 10 states but is among the most under-registered constituencies.

AAPIs should not be left out; AAPIs can play an impactful role in the 2012 elections and beyond. This project will support National CAPACD’s interest in building greater capacity, a clear long-term strategy and strong infrastructure towards its mission to build a powerful voice for the community development needs of AAPI communities.

Join us for the Home for Good Campaign!

With this year’s election results determining how our country will move forward in addressing the economic crisis, National CAPACD, the National Council of La Raza and other national advocacy organizations have created the Home for Good Campaign to shape the debate on housing policy and elevate the real threats to preserving housing opportunity for all. The campaign has three basic principles:

Stop needless foreclosures
Expand affordable rental housing
Revive a sustainable path to homeownership

As both presidential candidates continue to shape their messaging and policy priorities, we are encouraging all to join our partners this week in issuing statements, writing op-eds, and holding press conferences to urge both presidential candidates to address the many housing issues still affecting our neighborhoods.

For more information about this week's activities or to join the campaign, visit our Home for Good webpage or email Melvin Tabilas at Melvin@nationalcapacd.org.

Many AAPI organizations throughout the country have joined Home for Good Campaign, including:

Asian Americans for Equality
Asian Services in Action, Inc.

Asian Law Alliance
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance - Las Vegas
Hawaiian Community Assets

Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement

Faith Action for Community Equity

Asian American Homeownership Counseling

InterIm Community Development Association

Chinese Community Center of Houston

Japanese American Citizens League

National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse

Thai Community Development Corporation

Center for Pan Asian Community Services

Chhaya Community Development Corporation

Filipino Advocates for Justice
Asian American Homeownership Counseling
Chinese Progressive Association - San Francisco
One America
Viet Aid
Lao Assistance Center, Minnesota

Korean American Resource and Cultural Center

Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation

Chinese American Service League
Orange Country Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance

Today is National Voter Registration Day!

Join National CAPACD and be a part of the first ever National Voter Registration Day!

Don't be left out! Register to vote now and make sure your voice is heard.

For more information on National Voter Registration Day, please check out the official website.

Free Independent Foreclosure Review extended to December 31st

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve have again extended the deadline to apply for a free Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR) from September 30th to December 31, 2012.

In response to servicer misconduct, 14 major loan servicers are now offering eligible borrowers a free and impartial IFR by an independent consultant to identify those who may have been financially injured due to errors, misrepresentations or other deficiencies in their foreclosure process.

In addition, the OCC and Fed released their “Financial Remediation Framework”, which establishes baseline criteria for remediation to ensure consistency in the IFR process. This framework mandates that “similarly situated” borrowers are treated consistently if third-party reviewers determine financial injury occurred. The framework is also available to the public so that individuals that are considering submitting an IFR application can understand the process and what their compensation could be.

For more information on the Independent Foreclosure Review and the Financial Remediation Framework - including instruction guides in nine languages including Hmong, Vietnamese, Korean, and Mandarin - please visit the National CAPACD website.

National CAPACD Chicago Roundtable and Regional Reception Recap

Roundtable and appearance by Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar (47th District)

On September 14, National CAPACD held a roundtable and regional reception in Chicago, Illinois at the Cambodian American Heritage Museum (part of the Cambodian Association of Illinois). The roundtable was an opportunity to bring together local housing advocacy organizations and state government entities, such as Housing Action Illinois, Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs, Local Initiatives Support Corporation and National Urban League, with Chicago AAPI community based organizations, such as the Muslim Women Resource Center, Chinese American Service League, and the Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment. Participants in the interactive roundtable discussed opportunities and strategies for collaboration between Asian American and Pacific Islander immigrant-serving community based organizations and local community development organizations on housing policy.

The reception was a large success, with over sixty people in attendance enjoying food from local restaurants, music from the Khmer band from the Museum, and performances from Taichi Master Guan and Chinese youth dancer Kaitlyn Moy from the Chinese American Service League. Attendees heard from Alderman Ameya Pawar of Chicago’s 47th District, who is Chicago’s first Indian American councilmember and who recently introduced a resolution addressing attacks on Sikh Americans in Oak Creek. The Alderman spoke about the importance of AAPIs to the vibrancy of his district. Representatives from Senator Dick Durbin and Representative Jan Schakowsky’s offices also attended the event.

We would like to thank the roundtable and reception sponsors: The Chicago Community Trust, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Chinese American Service League, Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, Southwest Airlines, Comcast, US HHS Office of Minority Health, Cambodian Association of Illinois, Housing Action Illinois, Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs, Illinois Department of Human Rights, University of Illinois Chicago Asian American Studies Department.

Thank you to the following people with whom this event would not have been made possible: Alex Tsao, volunteer; Esther Wong and Leah Zhang of the Chinese American Service League; Seema Agnani, Lynette Lee, National CAPACD Board Members; Dary Mien and Kathy Reun, staff of the Cambodian Association of Illinois.

Save the Date: Washington, DC Holiday Party and Networking Reception on December 10th!

Please save the evening of Monday, December 10th, as National CAPACD will host a holiday party and networking reception in Washington, DC.

More details about this event will be announced in the coming days. Please check back on our website and Facebook for the latest updates!

National CAPACD Membership

If you or your organization is interested in becoming a National CAPACD member, please check our website for more details and to download an application.

If you are already a National CAPACD member, please remember to send your membership dues for 2012! To inquire about your current membership status, please contact Kevin (kevin@nationalcapacd.org) or Melvin (melvin@nationalcapacd.org).