The Asian Pacific Fund specializes in monitoring emerging and urgent needs in the Bay Area Asian community. Here are our 2005-2006 grants:
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Mental Health and Education Projects
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California voters approved $700 million for new mental health services. Counties are required to complete plans before they receive money for new services, but not one of the Bay Area county governments looked specifically at the needs of Asians who make up 24 percent of the region.
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Asian Community Mental Health Services (Alameda County) -- $32,000
Asian American Pacific Islander Health Forum (Santa Clara County) -- $32,000
Asian Pacific Psychological Services (Contra Costa County) -- $20,000
Vietnamese Youth Development Center (San Francisco County) -- $20,000
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Previous Years: 2003-2004
Mental Health Services and Counseling for Youth
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Although the mental health problems of Asian youth in the Bay Area region have not been studied comprehensively, we can find local examples of problems. Asians are more than 20 percent of the high school dropouts in San Francisco. A Daly City survey reported that 29 percent of students in counseling described themselves as depressed. Asian teen pregnancy has been increasing, while the national rate for all teens is declining. South Bay schools report rashes of self-mutilation and academic cheating because of parental pressures and race-related bullying. Community agencies continue to report that they must turn away patients because they lack private or public insurance.
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Asian Americans for Community Involvement (San Jose) -- $20,000
Asian Community Mental Health Services (Oakland) -- $10,000
Asian American Recovery Services, Inc. (Daly City) -- $10,000
Cambodian Community Development, Inc. (Oakland) -- $10,000
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Job Training and Placement
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In 2003 we reported that in a recent seven-year period, the number of unemployed Asians in California doubled, while unemployment for Californians generally decreased by 5 percent. Low-income Asians are hardest hit.
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Charity Cultural Services Center (San Francisco) -- $10,000
Chinese for Affirmative Action (San Francisco) -- $15,000
Filipinos for Affirmative Action (Oakland) -- $10,000
Narika (Berkeley) -- $15,000
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Citizenship and Legal Services for Immigrants
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U.S. Citizenship is not only fulfillment of the American dream, today, it is a critical factor of safety and stability in this country. Many Asian immigrants have special cases and special needs to complete the naturalization process. In the past, these needs were recognized through government grants, but anti-immigrant sentiment that increased in 1997 accelerated the decline in this support. State grants in this area decreased by 30 to 50 percent every year the past few years and were completely eliminated for 2004-2005.
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Asian Law Alliance (San Jose) -- $15,000
Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco) -- $15,000
Korean Community Center of East Bay (Oakland) -- $10,000
Lao Family Community Development (Oakland) -- $10,000
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Asian American Arts
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While public funding for the arts has not been a priority since the 1960s, the past few years have been particularly difficult.
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Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (San Francisco) -- $12,500
Kearny Street Workshop (San Francisco) -- $12,500
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Health and Wellness
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Often overlooked in general funding for health services, Asian require culturally sensitive treatment from diseases that often carry a negative stigma in the Asian community.
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Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center (San Francisco) -- $10,000
Yu-Ai Kai/Japanese American Community Senior Service (San Jose) -- $15,000
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Capacity Building for Domestic Violence Agencies
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Domestic violence continues to be a hidden problem for many Asian Americans. The Blue Shield of California Foundation made a grant to the Asian Pacific Fund, to help a cluster of domestic violence organizations strengthen their work with private donors and to diversify their funding base. The Asian Pacific Fund made grants from discretionary funds to support this work.
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Asian Women's Shelter (San Francisco) -- $3,700
Maitri (Menlo Park) -- $5,000
Narika (Berkeley) -- $5,000
Korean Community Center of the East Bay (Oakland) -- $2,000
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Previous Years: 2002-2003
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