CACF Applauds New York City's Increased Investment in AAPI Community Support Initiative
NEW YORK (June 16, 2022) -- The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) applauds the New York City Council and Mayor Eric Adams for their $5 million investment in the AAPI Community Support initiative – a $1 Million increase from it’s inception last year – to provide much-needed resources to our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities and the organizations who serve them. We are deeply appreciative for the leadership and support of our champions in the City Council for pushing this historic initiative forward and for uplifting community-based approaches to healing and recovery for our AAPI New Yorkers.
CACF, along with our coalition members and partners, has been advocating for an equitable City budget and needed investments in the AAPI community for nearly 15 years. This win was made possible through the collaborative effort of a diverse group of CACF’s organizational members and partners who are part of the 18% and Growing Campaign. As a collective voice of nearly 70 community-based organizations, the 18% and Growing Campaign calls on City Council to allocate the remaining funds from the AAPI Community Support Initiative directly, swiftly, and inclusively to un-funded and under-funded AAPI community-based organizations who are providing life-affirming services to our community during this dire time.
"Thank you to the New York City Council for this historic $5 million investment," said Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung, CACF's co-executive directors. "Through strengthening the AAPI Community Support Initiative, we will continue to build capacity, amplify existing community-based efforts, and support local organizations in reaching our most underserved AAPI community members through the power of culturally responsive and language accessible programming."
While this year’s City budget did not include our full ask of $6 million that AAPI organizations, community leaders, and allies called for, the $5 million investment is a significant win towards addressing the dire challenges of the AAPI community and ensuring that our needs are no-longer overlooked and under-resourced. Increasing investments to this pioneering initiative is a vital step towards addressing the historic underfunding of our AAPI communities, who received less than 5% of City Council’s discretionary funding in FY 2022, despite comprising 18% of New York City’s population.
This $5 million investment in the AAPI Community Support Initiative will continue to build capacity, amplify existing community-based efforts, and support local organizations in reaching our most underserved AAPI community members through the power of culturally responsive and language accessible programming. Funding from the AAPI Community Support Initiative will provide resources to over 50 AAPI-led and -serving organizations from across all five boroughs of New York City, as they continue to combat the devastating impacts of COVID-19 and the continued rise of anti-Asian violence. These community-based organizations offer critical programming to our AAPI communities, including mental health support, youth programs, racial literacy, hate crimes intervention, gender-based violence intervention and prevention, and other culturally responsive services needed to build long-term care and healing for AAPI New Yorkers.
While more work remains to be done, we are confident that investment in the AAPI Community Support Initiative will prove critical in promoting the wellness and safety of our AAPI communities. And we look forward to strengthened partnerships with New York City Council to best support our growing AAPI communities across the city.
“New York City’s AAPI communities are diverse and growing, and so are the challenges they face,” said City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. “The Council is proud to allocate $5 million to the AAPI Community Support Initiative to expand culturally competent services, mental health services, youth programs, and other important programs. I thank CACF and the entire 18% and Growing Campaign for their tireless advocacy in support of our AAPI communities as our city recovers from the many impacts of the pandemic.”
“For over a century, Asian Americans have been part of the fabric of New York City in every way—though we haven’t always been welcomed or celebrated,” said Council Member Shekar Krishnan. "In a time of surging Anti-Asian violence, I’m proud to have fought alongside the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families and my Asian American colleagues to ensure historic funding for our under-resourced AAPI community organizations.”
“Over the last two years, the drastic rise in violence against AAPI individuals, compounded with the ongoing mental mental health crisis demands investments in our Asian communities”, said Council Member Linda Lee, Vice-Chair of the New York City Council Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus, and first Korean American elected to City Council alongside Julie Won. “We currently make up 18 percent of NYC's population and continue to grow, so we deserve investments that reflect this reality. Organizations need this critical funding to provide culturally competent mental healthcare, increase language access across communities, and combat the rising Anti-Asian hate. I am thankful to have worked with my City Council colleagues, Speaker Adrienne Adams, and Mayor Eric Adams to create a budget that represents all New Yorkers, and provides support for organizations like the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families who do the hard work on the ground every day for some of our city's most marginalized communities.”
“I am proud to join my colleagues in increasing the AAPI Community Support Initiative to $5 million in this year’s budget,” said Council Member Carlina Rivera. “Our Asian American Pacific Islander neighbors have had to endure a rise in race- and gender-motivated crimes amidst a pandemic, and this funding will go to organizations directly meeting the needs of their communities for mental health support, youth programs, and other culturally humble social services. I want to thank the 18% and Growing Campaign for fighting for this critical initiative.”
“This final FY 23 budget reflects many of my top priorities, but one I am particularly proud of is an additional $1 million to deliver an unprecedented $5 million to the AAPI Community Support Initiative. This money will support the under-resourced community organizations that do so much to support our AAPI community.,” said Council Member Sandra Ung. “I want to thank Speaker Adrienne Adams and my fellow Council Members for their work on a budget that delivers for our immigrant communities.”
Several member organizations from the 18% and Growing Campaign also lauded the increase in funding from City Council.
“The AAPI community continues to face daunting challenges due to rising hate crimes and economic hardships,” said Jennifer Sun and Thomas Yu, co-executive directors of Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE). “From the onset of the pandemic to this day, our community leaders and service providers have stood together, united in our commitment to confront these issues head on. Essential resources will ensure our ability to provide a range of services, including hate crime reporting, self defense training, safe walk programs, culturally appropriate food pantries and mental health services for our youth and seniors. We urge members of the City Council to bolster our collective work through the AAPI Community Support Initiative.”
“The Arab-American Family Support Center is proud to stand alongside our 18% and Growing Campaign partners in envisioning an equitable and community-informed budget for New York City,” said Rawaa Nancy Albilal, President and CEO, Arab-American Family Support Center (AAFSC). “Amidst rising hate crimes and the lingering social and economic impact of COVID-19, it is imperative that we sustain and expand our culturally and linguistically accessible services to ensure our AAPI community members are fully supported. To our New York City Council Members, your support of the AAPI Community Support Initiative is vital.”
“A4 is so proud to be a part of the 18% and Growing Campaign. As a result of our participation in the Campaign, we have developed relationships with many other AAPI-led and -serving organizations in order to connect artists with these social service agencies,” said Lisa Gold, Executive Director of the Asian American Arts Alliance. Additionally, with funding from the AAPI Community Support Initiative, we have been able to launch a new partnership with MoCADA (Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts) to build solidarity and understanding between AAPI and Black communities through artist-driven projects."
Wayne Ho, President and CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council, said, "Asian American and Pacific Islanders have been facing the triple pandemic of COVID-19, the economic crisis, and anti-Asian violence for over two years. The $5 million investment in the AAPI Community Support Initiative is critical to promoting an equitable recovery for the City's fastest growing community. These resources will allow dozens of culturally responsive organizations to address urgent and growing needs. We are grateful to Council Members Lee and Krishnan, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), and Asian American Federation (AAF) for spearheading this initiative, and look forward to working with the Mayoral Administration and City Council to ensure its swift implementation."
"The AAPI Community Support Initiative is vitally important and a critical funding source for Center for the Integration & Advancement of New Americans, Inc. (CIANA). This initiative will allow us to continue to aid our Arab and South Asian community members in the recovery efforts from the global pandemic which devastated not only Queens, but BIPOC people in particular,” said Emira Habiby Browne, Founder & CEO of CIANA. “The AAPI Initiative will allow us to continue and expand our holistic immigration model utilizing our culturally sensitive and multilingual staff in our Case Management, Immigration Legal and Adult/Youth Educational programs. In the past year alone, we have seen an increase of over 700% in our services across all of our programs. The demand for our services has never been greater and this funding will be a lifeline to all of our immigrants that we serve. We call on the New York City Council to swiftly, inclusively, and equitably allocate the AAPI Community Support to unfunded and underfunded AAPI community based organizations, as the initiative was originally intended."
"As a Steering Committee member of the 18% & Growing Campaign, CMP is proud of the partnership and advocacy to help advance our community through investment from the City Council and advancement of the AAPI Community Support Initiative," said Hong Shing Lee, Executive Director, CMP.
“On behalf of Hamilton-Madison House, I attest to the crucial nature of the AAPI Community Support Initiative,” said Isabel Ching, Executive Director of Hamilton-Madison House, a community services organization serving a sizable AAPI population in Chinatown and beyond. “The need for a variety of specially designed social services to help Asian-American New Yorkers cope with such difficulties as poverty, mental health struggles and employment challenges is evident. At HMH, additional funding would allow for deepened and expanded mental health services for adults and increased engagement of seniors. We call on the NYC Council to join NYS government leaders in investing in the well-being of AAPI New Yorkers.”
“We applaud the FY23 budget sustaining the funding in the AAPI Community Support Initiatives. With the continued funding, we would be able to continue providing direct services, case management, family services, youth programs, and other culturally competent, linguistically appropriate programs that can empower the AAPI community by ensuring they have equitable access to the resources they need,” said Wai Yee Chan, Executive Director of the Homecrest Community Services (HCS).
"Mekong NYC supports the AAPI Community Support Initiative,” said Mekong NYC’s Executive Director Chhaya Chhoum. “This initiative support is essential and vital in our work to address food insecurity, social services, and linguistic accessibility, especially for the Southeast Asian community throughout NYC."
"Sakhi for South Asian Women is grateful to the New York City Council for its historic support through the AAPI Community Support Initiative," said Kavita Mehra, Executive Director of Sakhi for South Asian Women. "This investment will provide critical services to survivors of gender-based violence, as well as other members of our community, who have been historically gone unseen."
“The AAPI community in NYC has long been underfunded and only with unprecedented collaboration through the 18% and Growing Campaign were we able to secure not only a renewal, but an expansion of the NYC Council AAPI Community Support Initiative,” said Diya Basu-Sen, Executive Director of Sapna NYC. “This funding is essential in supporting AAPI serving organizations who have deep relationships of trust with the communities they serve, offering services that are linguistically accessible and rooted in shared culture and tradition that they cannot get anywhere else. Through these funds Sapna NYC has been able to build capacity to support the rising number of survivors of domestic violence who have come to us to help, distribute culturally attuned groceries to those struggling with food insecurity, offer case management in Bengali, Hindi, and English, provide needed health education and services, and much more. We thank the Council for this expansion, and recognizing that this is only a first step, look forward to continuing to work together to make sure our AAPI communities finally receive the investment and support we need and deserve.”
