May Immigrant Affairs Update
THIS MONTH'S SPOTLIGHT:
AUSTIN ASIAN COMMUNITY HEALTH INITIATIVE
[Image Description: There is a blue circle on a white background with a red lotus at the center. Below the blue circle is black text in all capital letters that says, "AACHI". Right below that line is another line in black text in all capital letters that says, "Austin Asian Community Health Initiative".]
The mission of the Austin Asian Community Health Initiative (AACHI) is to improve the health and well-being of Asians in Central Texas through advocacy, education, and support. 
 
AACHI was originally established by the Network of Asian American Organizations (NAAO) as the Asian American Resource Center (AARC) Nonprofit in 2006 to support the creation of a facility that could provide space, services, resources & programs through an Asian American Pacific Islander perspective. After years of fundraising and organizing, the AARC opened as a City of Austin Parks & Recreation Department facility in 2013.
 
Soon after the facility opened in 2013, the AARC Nonprofit collaborated with Austin Public Health (APH) to develop an unprecedented study on the health of Austin’s historically underserved Asian American community. The study highlighted the need to establish a community health navigation program to help connect residents to various health services and resources. With funding from Austin Public Health, the AARC Nonprofit piloted a Community Health Navigation (CHN) program. In 2018, after two years of the CHN Program’s success and expansion, the AARC Nonprofit changed its name to Austin Asian Community Health Initiative, and its mission to reflect their growing focus on health equity.
 

The Community Health Navigation Program provides healthcare navigation for Austin's various Asian communities, including the Burmese, Korean, Nepali, Vietnamese, Syrian, Iraqi, and other Arabic-speaking communities. Services include:

  • Patient advocacy
  • Health navigation education
  • Interpretation/translation support
  • Referrals to local resources
  • Eligibility & Application Assistance
LOCAL UPDATES
Naturalization Ceremonies Resume
 
On Friday, May 14th, the City hosted its first naturalization ceremonies in over a year and approximately 150 people became naturalized U.S. citizens. People were able to immediately get registered to vote, sign up for a library card, and/or receive their first COVID vaccine following their ceremony. Kudos to the Austin Public Library and Austin Public Health for all of their work to make these ceremonies a reality!
[Image Description: A photo of three rows of people standing with their right hand held up, level with their heads. There are stone benches planted in the greenery right behind each row of people, implying that they were sitting on the stone benches before getting up. Everyone is facing away from the camera, so only the back of their heads or side profiles can be seen. They are all facing a wooden gazebo. Under the wooden gazebo are two people, one is reading something off of what they're holding and another person seems to be recording the moment.]
[Image Description: A photo of four people in the daytime. Three of them are standing side by side in front of a truck that is a mobile library. The fourth person is posing from inside the truck on the passenger side. Everyone is smiling and have on face masks. The three people standing side by side are holding posters that encourage people to vote.]
[Image Description: A photograph of five people seated around a white fold-out table indoors during the day-time. They are all wearing masks and looking at the camera. Three people on the right side of the table are wearing scrubs and seem to be medical professionals. There are medical supplies on the table along with water bottles, phones, and paperwork.]
Support Available for Citizenship Applications
 
Casa Marianella received a grant from the City of Austin to help residents of Austin and Travis County apply for citizenship.
 
If you are eligible and if you live in Austin or Travis County, it's possible Casa Marianella will be able to help you with the application process.
 
To discuss your eligibility for citizenship, email Sarah Woelk at swoelk@casamarianella.org or call 512-385-5571.
[Image Description: A logo from Casa Marianella that has a sketch of a house's frame with a group of people under the frame.]
Support Available for DACA and TPS
 

American Gateways is offering:

 

  • Free legal clinics for DACA initial and DACA renewal applications
  • Assistance filing Temporary Protected Status - Venezuela & Burma (Myanmar)
  • Renewal for filing Temporary Protected Status - Syria

 

For services please contact American Gateways at 512-478-0546 x200, Monday-Thursday, from 9AM-12PM
[Image Description: A circular logo that has a black background. The first half of the circle contains a drawing of various lines creating a semi circle in a cream color. Beneath that is the text in a cream color that says, "American Gateways". Beneath that in red text it says, "Est. 1987". Beneath that, along the bottom of the semi-circle it says, "Freedom Safety Hope" in cream. There is a cream bullet between each word.]
Tuesday, June 29th at 12:30-1:30pm CST
Volunteer Training with Todos Juntos
&
Wednesday, June 30th at 12-1:30pm CST
Mock Testing
 
Help our civics students gain their citizenship! Conduct “mock-citizenship” interviews over Google Meet preparing them for the US Naturalization Test. Volunteers will receive training the day before the scheduled testing. During the training, they will also receive their 1-on-1 student pairing assignments. To volunteer, please contact Raney McKool (raney@todosjuntoslc.org)
[Image Description: A logo with a white background. There are three petal shapes that are fanning out like a flower. The smallest is purple, then pink, with the largest being orange. The petals are sitting on the text in green, "todos juntos learning center."]
STATE & NATIONAL UPDATES
UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENTS
Tuesday, May 18th @ 3pm CST
United We Stand: National AAPI Day Against Bullying and Hate
 
In 2019, Act To Change spearheaded the inaugural National AAPI Day Against Bullying+Hate on May 18, in honor of the birthday of Vincent Chin, whose murder in a hate crime in 1982 sparked a national uprising. This year, we’re proud to host the 3rd annual national AAPI Day Against Bullying+Hate with the support of municipalities, elected officials and partner organizations. Please join us for a day of commemorative activities and a signature virtual event. Register here.
[Image Description: A square logo with the words "Act to Change" at the top. Beneath that it states in black text, "United We Stand" with a yellow highlighter color as the text's background. Below that is a collage of various Asian-Americans looking at the camera, posing. At the bottom right, it says in black text, "National AAPI Day Against Bullying+ Hate May 18 2021"]
Wednesday, May 19th @ 6:30pm CST
NAE Film Club: Building the American Dream
 
The NAE Film Club is a monthly virtual film series, hosted by the New American Economy, that's focused on immigrant filmmakers and subject matters related to the immigrant experience in America. Each month we’ve selected one movie to stream, paired with a live discussion with the filmmakers.
 
Building The American Dream is a feature documentary that follows three immigrant families who are rising up to seek justice and equality in the construction industry. Register here to watch and join the conversation.
[Image Description: A movie poster with the face of a person squinting against the light. The person is wearing construction work gear and a gold necklace with a cross on it. Right above their head in white text it says, "Building the American Dream". At the bottom of the poster is text too small to read.]
Wednesday, May 26th @ 6pm CST
Supporting Unaccompanied Immigrant Students
 

Laura Gardner (Founder, Immigrant Connections), will discuss how to best welcome & support new unaccompanied youth in our schools. This webinar is appropriate for teachers, school counselors, school social workers, psychologists, parent liaisons, and anyone who is invested in the success of our students! Register here.
[Image Description: A logo with white background. There is a globe that contains stick figures in all colors. Beneath it, it reads, "English Learner Portal".]
Friday, May 28th @ 10am CST
Facebook Live: Austin Public Health 
 
Tune in for accurate and updated COVID-19-related information centered around API/AAPI communities, and that's also relevant for the greater Austin community. The live broadcasts offer simultaneous interpretation in Burmese, Mandarin & Vietnamese by calling the phone numbers on the flyer. Tune in to My API Live here.
[Image Description: A digital flyer with a white background. To the right are two people, one with a megaphone and another holding up a sign. To the right of them, there is text that reads, "My API Live. Accessible, Pertinent Information. Get accurate COVID-19 information from the Asian Pacific Islander (API) Work Group. Join us live on the Austin Public Health Facebook Page: Facebook.com/AustinPublicHealth on the second and fourth Friday of every month, at 10 am." Below that are texts in Asian languages. At the very bottom of the flyer is the Facebook URL again, and the logos of Austin Pulic Health, City of Austin, the Asian American Resource Center, Austin Public Library, and Parks and Rec.]
Ongoing trainings throughout May 2021
Bystander Intervention Trainings
 
One way we can take action to protect our communities is to learn ways to intervene effectively as a bystander without compromising safety. Hollaback! & Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC are partnering for a virtual workshop on bystander intervention. Register for a training here.
[Image Description: A black and white image of a group of people walking side by side, laughing. Overlaid on the photo is a pink frame with white text in the middle that says, "Bystander Intervention to stop anti-Asian/American and xenophobic harassment". Below that are two logos, one for Asian Americans Advancing Justice and another right beside it for Hollaback!]
SAVE THE DATE
October 3-8 in Las Vegas, NV
National Immigrant Integration Conference
 
NIIC is the largest conference on immigration in the U.S. and plays a central role in the powerful, diverse and broad immigrant and refugee rights and integration field. At the NIIC, the many different spokes of this field gather to develop relationships, build campaigns, amplify shared values, be inspired, build relationships, and share ideas, strategies, lessons learned and new information and innovations. Registration opens soon!
[Image Description: A flyer that states at the very top, "Save the date and join us: NIIC 2021" Below that it states, "New American Dreams. National Immigrant Integration Conference 2021. A project of national partnership for new Americans." There is a URL: niicnewamericandreams.org. Beneath the URL is an illustration of the Statue of Liberty's face. To the right of the image are a list of various partners. At the very bottom it states, "October 3 - 8, 2021 Las Vegas, NV. Registration Opens in May."]
 
GENERAL RESOURCES
Taste of Belonging
 
Welcoming America Network has launched a toolkit and resource guide in the form of a cookbook. Taste of Belonging: A Collection of Recipes and Ways to Strengthen Community Across Differences. The cookbook is intended for individuals and organizations seeking fresh inspiration and tips for building connections and decreasing prejudice in communities.
[Image Description: A banner with a teal background that states, "Taste of Belonging" and beneath that, "A collection of recipes and ways to strengthen community across differences". To the right of the text there are three different white bowls that each contain different herbs. One bowl of herbs is red, another black, and the last green.]
Down A Dark Stairwell
 
Down A Dark Stairwell chronicles the shooting in Brooklyn of Akai Gurley, an innocent Black man, and the trial of the Chinese American police officer, Peter Liang, who pulled the trigger, casting a powerful light on the experiences of two marginalized communities thrust into an uneven criminal justice system together. The film is available in English and with Chinese subtitles.
[Image Description: A poster in black and white that is looking down a stairwell. The white text states, "Down a Dark Stairwell" and beneath that in white text, "When justice isn't black and white".]
Advancing Universal Representation Toolkit
 

The toolkit is intended to equip advocates, organizers, legal services providers, and policymakers with strategies to make the case for implementing and sustaining universal representation programs.

 

The toolkit consists of three parts:

• Module 1 makes the case for universal representation and describes the importance of implementing the universal representation model, even when it starts out on a small scale.

• Module 2 outlines how to build an advocacy campaign advancing universal representation.

• Module 3 describes best practices for implementing local and state universal representation programs and profiles different jurisdictions’ programs.
[Image Description: A digital image of the Statue of Liberty as a teal silhoutte with orange lines drawn through her. There is a person who is climbing a ladder with a cream silhoutte. The background is an orange sky with dispersed cream clouds.]
Answers to Common Questions about Immigrants' Access to the COVID-19 Vaccines
 
People in immigrant communities and advocates have expressed concern about barriers that many people face when attempting to access COVID-19 vaccines. These barriers frequently are related to the concerns immigrants generally have when trying to access health care - concerns about documentation requirements, data privacy, eligibility, cost, and whether resources are available in their primay language. This article provides answers to common questions regarding such concerns. 
[Image Description: A sketch of a blue post-it note with an orange thumbtack on it. There is white text that says, "COVID-19 Vaccine" and below it is a sketch of a syringe and vial that has blue, orange, grey, and white colors on it.]
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