Asian Services In Action’s Staff Receives Treu-Mart Youth Development Fellowship

Cleveland, OH – Asian Services In Action (ASIA) is proud to announce that its Project Director, Kitty Leung has been selected for the Treu-Mart Youth Development Fellowship.  The Treu-Mart Fellowship is a cooperative venture between Treu-Mart Fund, a supporting organization of The Cleveland Foundation and the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, and the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Case Western Reserve University.  The goal of the Fellowship is to provide a unique professional development experience for adults who work with middle school aged youth during out-of-school time.  The purposes of the program are to:

·                 +Provide intellectual, interpersonal, and professional support to youth service providers to enable them to model caring environments, high expectations, and opportunities for meaningful participation in their work with youth.

               +Build on the existing strengths and capacities of community-based agencies to enhance affirming social networks for middle school aged youth.

“We are extremely proud of Kitty.  Her acceptance of this award attests to her commitment to empower immigrant and refugee Asian American youth to become academically successful and enable them to become important contributors to their community,” said May Chen, ASIA’s Executive Director.  “This fellowship also highlights the critical needs of youth who are newly arriving and are limited English proficient as they face cultural and languages barriers in successfully transitioning to the American way of life.”

As a Treu-Mart Fellow, Kitty will participate in the scheduled workshops and will receive one-on-one mentorship to further enhance her role as Project Director for ASIA’s Community Adult Mentoring Program, an afterschool academic and alcohol, tobacco and other drugs prevention program for immigrant and refugee youth.  CAM is funded by Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. 

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Ohio Asian American Health Coalition Receives $600,000 Grant from Groundbreaking Initiative to Combat Health Disparities

Columbus, Ohio -   Ohio Asian American Health Coalition (OAAHC) announced today that it is one of eight community organizations from around the country selected to receive community grants totaling $4.8 million, part of an unprecedented $16.5 million national community investment partnership called “Health Through Action for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.”

Launched in 2006, Health Through Action is a groundbreaking partnership between Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The initiative marks the first time a private sector foundation has joined forces with a national Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA & NHPI) organization to tackle health disparities in the AANHPI communities.

“By supporting organizations that are on the ground and on the front lines of this fight, we are taking a major step toward eliminating the health disparities that exist in our vulnerable communities,” said Dr. Ho Tran, President and CEO APIAHF. “We thank the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for partnering with us and congratulate the Ohio Asian American Health Coalition.”

Through the initiative, OAAHC will  be receive $600,000 for a  four-year term to address Hepatitis B and other urgent health and health care issues facing AANHPIs  in Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Greater Cincinnati, and others. “We are thrilled to receive this tremendous support from APIAHF and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation,” said Michael Byun, Chair of OAAHC. “The generous funding from this groundbreaking initiative bolsters the capacity of OAAHC member agencies to serve the needs of Ohio’s AA & NHPI communities.

Asian agencies - Asian Services in Action (ASIA, Cleveland and Akron, OH), Asian-American Community Services (AACS, Columbus, OH), Asian-American Community Service Council (ACSC, Columbus, OH), Asian Festival Corporation (AFC, Columbus, OH), Asian Community Alliance (ACA, Cincinnati, OH), and the Asian American Council (AAC, Dayton, OH) - throughout the state will work together as part of the Ohio Asian American Health Coalition to implement the activities for this grant.  The long term goal of the Coalition is to advocate for systems, funding and policy changes to reduce barriers and to improve the health of Ohio Asian Americans.

Health Through Action focuses on five major areas:

• Strengthening the capacity of local communities to conduct effective health programming and advocacy.
• Developing and advancing a national AA & NHPI health agenda.
• Supporting strategies that spur increased data collection and research on AA & NHPI health.
• Supporting the development and implementation of a Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander health agenda
• Building a national network of AA & NHPI communities aimed at achieving optimal health and well-being.

Estimated at nearly 15 million, the AA & NHPI community is the second fastest growing population in the U.S.   However, the community’s health needs remain underserved, with little existing research and data to accurately measure its social/economic and health status. The research that does exist shows alarming disparity:

• Nationally, 10% of AANHPIs are infected with Hepatitis B compared to 0.1% for whites.  Hepatitis B infection is a primary cause for liver cancer.
• Current Population Survey data from 2005 to 2007 reveal that Asian Americans (16%) and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders (22%) are more likely to be uninsured than Whites (11%).
• AA & NHPIs have one of the lowest cancer screening rates in the nation but have disproportionately higher rates in lung, breast , liver and cervical cancers.
• Cultural and language barriers routinely prevent AA & NHPIs from accessing prevention, education and treatment services.

After announcing the grants, Health Through Action received Letters of Intent from more than 130 organizations from around the country, of which 30 were invited to submit full proposals.  OAAHC was selected in part due to its abilities and commitment to form collaboratives and work with diverse pan-ethnic communities and organizations.

“With this grant opportunity, we will be able to raise the public’s awareness to the health disparities and challenges faced by Ohio’s growing and diverse Asian American communities.  Our action will encourage collaborations with local and state health institutions, legislative and policy makers to develop equitable initiatives and resources to improve Asian American health.”

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About Ohio Asian American Coalition:  In recognition of health disparities among Ohio’s AA populations, an Ohio Asian American Health Conference was convened in 2002 and, again, in 2005. At the conclusion of the latter conference, representatives of various Asian American community organizations, health care professionals, students, and community leaders joined to form an Ohio Asian American Health Coalition. While acknowledging that there are many Asian American health care needs, the group focused upon three that were considered to be among the most urgent: (1) Hepatitis B and associated liver cancer, (2) mental health, including domestic violence, and (3) prevention and control of tobacco use. There was a general consensus that education was needed to (a) inform health care providers of the health needs among AA populations and (b) inform members of these populations of existing health care programs and services.

About APIAHF:  Established in 1986, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) is a national health policy and advocacy organization whose mission is to enable Asian American and Pacific Islanders to attain the highest possible level of health and well-being. For more information, please visit www.apiahf.org.

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                                                              ● Winter 2007