NCVA REPORTER - August 5, 2003

In this NCVA Reporter:

Events

• Opportunities Conference 2003 – Sept 24-25
• Conference to Offer Community Development and Networking Ideas – Nov 5-7
• Benefit Dinner to Support Senior Citizens in Houston - Aug 22

Grants

• Barbara Bush Foundation for Literacy
• Grants for Community and Civic Interests
• Youth Athletics and Wellness Supported
• Community Justice Funds

Internships

• EPA/EJ Intern Program

News

• California Immigrants Surveyed in Multiple Languages on Language Access in Health Care
• Donations Allowed Family to Bury San José Woman From Vietnam
• Korean Mother Faces Deportation After Cultural Misunderstanding

******************

Events

Opportunities Conference 2003

Asian Pacific and Hispanic Americans: Building on America’s Promise

September 24-25, 2003 – Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DC

The Opportunities Conference is the first conference of its kind focused on strengthening the economic development of the Asian Pacific and Hispanic American communities. By reaching out to small business owners, non-profit organizations, and community leaders, this innovative conference will address the needs of the two fastest growing segments of the 21st century workforce.

Celebrating the contributions of the nation's two largest immigrant communities, the event will emphasize key components of economic development including minority homeownership, job training, and understanding procurement opportunities. Workshops will provide participants with information about small business development, accessing capital, doing business with the government, opportunities for faith-based and community organizations, and assistance to limited English proficiency workers.

 Please visit www.opportunitiesconference.gov for more information and to register.  Registration is complimentary however space is limited.

******************

Conference to Offer Community Development and Networking Ideas
The Enterprise Foundation
The Enterprise Foundation's 2003 Annual Network Conference, "Reinventing Community Development," will address the need for new community development and networking approaches. For three decades, the community development movement has depended upon the resources of federal, state, and local governments. Now, with government spending constrained at all levels, the long-term health of community development rests on finding new approaches and partnerships. How can we "reinvent" approaches, processes, or "the rules of the game" so we can continue to serve the needs of low-income communities? Join the discussion November 5-7, 2003, in Baltimore, MD. Visit http://www.enterprisefoundation.org/resources/Trainingconf/conferences/networkConference/content.asp for more information.

******************

Benefit Dinner to Support Senior Citizens in Houston

The Vietnamese Community of Houston and Vicinity Host an Evening: Honoring Vietnamese senior citizens

Benefiting: The Vietnamese Senior Citizens Association, Northwest – Southwest, Houston

Honorary Chair:        The Honorable Gordon Guan

Chair:                     Kim Nguyen

Co-Chairs:               Kim Nix, Trinh Pham

Event Committee:    Henry Contreras, Nhulien Hope, Trang Pham, Binh Nguyen, Von Tran

Honoring:      Sinh Nguyen and Giao Ngoc Nguyen

Date:

Friday, August 22, 2003

Location:

Ocean Palace Restaurant

11215 Bellaire Blvd.

Houston, Texas 77072

(281) 988-8898

Time:

6:30PM – Reception

7:00PM – 9:00PM Program/Dinner

Founded in 1987, The Vietnamese Senior Citizens Association became Houston’s first non-profit organization established to support our Vietnamese seniors. Quickly the Association became a familiar place to seniors confronting not only the difficulties of integrating into American society, but struggled with age and language barriers for the first time in their lives. These brave men and women who – unable to continue their fight for democracy at home - found refuge on American soil, established two vibrant community centers dedicated to preserving our Vietnamese identities. 

While these centers offer our seniors much in the way of spirit, support and a sense of ‘belonging’; they remain grossly under-funded. Sadly, the Organization cannot provide essential programs that promise many essential benefits to its members. Often, paying the modest $1,500 monthly rent for each facility threatens the centers’ very existence. Today The Vietnamese Senior Citizens Association is only able to afford English and integration programs for its seniors. In addition, without the generous support of the YWCA, which provides meals and transportation to each center, many seniors would remain stranded at home, alone. 

It’s time to give back to our seniors. Help insure each center’s survival. Together we can build an organization offering many programs for its patrons, rather than one struggling simply to pay this month’s rent. 

We await your acceptance of this invitation to sponsor a table and hope to see you at the event. 

Sponsorship levels:

$5,000 - $2,500 - $1,000 - $500 

If you are unable to attend, please mail your contribution to 9411 Heflin Colony Dr. Sugar Land, Texas 77478. Please make checks payable to Vietnamese Community of Houston and Vicinity. Note: Honoring Vietnamese Senior Citizens  

If you wish to contribute time, funding for specific programs or gain additional information: please call Trinh Pham @ 832-368-7347, email:tpham22@yahoo.rr.com Nhulien Hope @ 832-493-1256, email: Samantha.truong@earthlink.net

******************

Grants

Literacy Targeted
Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy
The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy's grantmaking program seeks to develop or expand projects that are designed to support the development of literacy skills for adult primary care givers and their children. In order to be eligible for a grant, an organization must have maintained current nonprofit status or public status for at least two years and currently have an instructional literacy program that includes one or more components of a family literacy program, specifically literacy for adults, parent education, pre-literacy or literacy for children, or intergenerational literacy activities. Nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, school-based local and state agencies, and faith-based groups are eligible to apply. The application deadline is September 5, 2003. For more information, visit http://www.barbarabushfoundation.com.

******************

Grants for Community and Civic Interests
Safeco Community Grants Program
The Safeco Community Grants Program supports nonprofit organizations that promote neighborliness by bringing people together in and around cities where company employees live and work. Safeco funds programs focused on improving and creating neighborhood parks and gathering spaces; neighborhood beautification and clean-up projects; service learning projects that create or enhance community assets; and community festivals that attract diverse audiences. Upcoming application deadlines are September 12 and November 14, 2003. For further information, visit http://www.safeco.com/safeco/about/giving/giving.asp.

******************

Youth Athletics and Wellness Supported
Finish Line Youth Foundation
The Finish Line Youth Foundation provides funding to organizations in the communities in which company stores are located. (Finish Line operates over 460 stores in 45 states.) The Foundation's primary focus is to support youth athletic and wellness programs. The Foundation only supports organizations that primarily focus on assisting children and young adults 18 and under; have a concentration on athletics or wellness; and benefit communities Finish Line serves. There are no application deadlines; grant requests are reviewed quarterly. For more information, visit http://www.finishline.com/store/corporate_info/youthfoundation.jsp.

******************

Community Justice Funds
JEHT Foundation
The JEHT Foundation was established to support its donors' interests in human rights, social justice, and community building. The name JEHT stands for the core values that underlie the Foundation's mission: Justice, Equality, Human Dignity, and Tolerance. The Foundation provides grants through the following two programs: the Community Justice Program, which focuses on ameliorating the impact that crime and the criminal justice system have on low-income marginalized communities; and the International Program, which contributes to moving the United States towards taking a more constructive role in promoting international justice issues. (Applications to this program are by invitation only.) Letters of inquiry for the Community Justice Program are accepted at any time. For more information, visit http://www.jehtfoundation.org/index2.html.

******************          

Internships

EPA/EJ Intern Program

The EPA/EJ Intern Program provides opportunities for students to gain practical experience working on environmental issues.  Interns are placed in EPA Headquarters (Washington, DC) or in one of EPA's regional offices or labs throughout the US.  Since 1992, over $36 million has been invested in this program which has given more than 2,200 students opportunities for on-the-job training.  Applications are due March 1, 2004.

The Community Intern Program provides opportunities for students to work on environmental and/or public health issues in various communities. Interns are placed directly in community based organizations around the country.  Since 2000, more than 135 students have gained valuable experience working at the grassroots level.  Applications are due January 31, 2004.

These paid internships provide an excellent career boost for students who want to get their start in the environmental and/or public health profession.  Students get practical experience working in fields like sicence, engineering, law, computer science, political analysis, communications, and more.

If you know of any college students who would be interested, please share this announcement with them.

If you are a community organization who would like to apply to obtain a summer intern in 2004, please fill out the attached form.

For more information, visit www.eco.org/epa

******************

News

[Health care top issue for immigrants

SAN FRANCISCO - California's Chinese, Latino and Vietnamese immigrants consider health care as their most important issue, above employment and education, but language remains a crucial barrier to access, according to a report released Tuesday by the New California Media.

The survey findings are in contrast to previous polls of the general public, who rank education and employment as top priorities, pollster Sergio Bendixen said.

``There's this sense that there's a high degree of facility to health care access among Spanish-speaking immigrants,'' said Patricia Johnson, director of finance and operation for New California Media, a statewide group of 500 ethnic media organizations that commissioned the survey. The poll was funded with grants from the California Endowment, a state health foundation.

The survey, however, indicates that Latino immigrants struggle the most with getting quality health care because of language barriers, Johnson said.

About 1,200 immigrants were surveyed, in 11 languages including Armenian, Cantonese, Cambodian, Mandarin, Hmong, Korean, Farsi, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.]

Bridging Language Barriers in Health Care
NCM and Bendixen & Associates Survey
NCM,
July 25, 2003

California Immigrants Surveyed in Multiple Languages on Language Access in Health Care

·         Presentation of Survey (pdf) (http://www.ncmonline.com/media/pdf/hc_presentation.pdf)

·         Executive Summary (pdf) (http://www.ncmonline.com/media/pdf/tce_summary.pdf)

SAN FRANCISCO – July 29, 2003 – It may be the best kept secret in American law – a secret that is keeping millions of Californians from getting quality health care.

A new multilingual poll of California immigrants commissioned by NCM, a coalition of over 500 ethnic news organizations, found that a majority of all California immigrants are unaware that they have a right to ask for an interpreter when seeking medical care. Yet that right has been the law ever since the 1964 Civil Rights Act banned discrimination on the basis of national origin.

The poll, conducted by noted Spanish language pollster Sergio Bendixen, is the first ever to study the role of language barriers in health care as reported by immigrants. Some 1200 Californians representing roughly 7 of the 9 million immigrants living in California were surveyed by telephone in 11 languages and dialects including Armenian, Cantonese, Cambodian, Mandarin, Hmong, Korean, Farsi, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. The multilingual poll was funded by The California Endowment, a statewide health foundation.

“Medical care is rated as the most important issue by California immigrants – in contrast to the general population which ranks it well below education and unemployment. And the poll found a direct correlation between a person’s ability to speak English and the quality of health care he or she receives,” Bendixen says.

“Among Hispanics, the state’s largest immigrant group, the language barriers are even higher than expected,” says Bendixen, who has been conducting Spanish language polls for more than a decade. “Some 74% of Hispanic immigrants told us that they spoke English “not well or not at all.” According to the poll, half of Cambodians, Koreans, Chinese and Hmong also reported serious problems speaking English. However, the majority of immigrants have taken classes to improve their fluency in English: 84% of Iranians, 82% of Vietnamese and 80% of Cambodians.

“When you combine these language problems with lack of access to medical insurance, the groups facing the greatest problems accessing quality health care are Hispanics and Koreans,” Bendixen concludes. But the issue of language barriers impacts all groups, he adds. Which is why at least one third of all immigrants interviewed rate the overall quality of health care they receive as poor or very poor – again, significantly lower than the general public ratings reported by a Gallup poll last year.

Not surprisingly, the NCM poll found that the vast majority of California immigrants rely on foreign language media as their primary source for information about health care. “The poll is a wakeup call for NCM,” says executive director Sandy Close. “It tells us not only that health care is the major source of anxiety – more than earning a living or getting their kids in school – for our audiences. It underscores ethnic media’s responsibility in alleviating that anxiety.”

The first step towards that end is a two-year NCM social marketing campaign also funded by the California Endowment that aims to increase immigrants’ awareness of their rights to language services in health care settings. Close is confident that ethnic media’s coverage of the issue – together with advertisements running during the next three months – will drive awareness up among all groups.

“We hope that this campaign will help to increase the use of medical interpreters by physicians, hospitals and other health providers. Greater use of medical interpreters will result in improve communications between doctors and patients, and result in the higher quality of medical care. As ethnic media promote greater awareness, and more Californians begin demanding language services, health care providers and the state will expand the very scanty infrastructure that now exists,” remarked Ignatius Bau, program officer at The Endowment.

Health care problems highlighted by the poll include:

·         One out of three Koreans, Chinese, Vietnamese, Hmong and Hispanics report problems getting medical care when they need it.

·         Close to three out of four Cambodians, more than half of Hmong, and more than one out of three Vietnamese, Koreans Chinese and Hispanics say they have problems understanding a medical situation when it’s not explained to them in their language.

·         Over half of Iranians, Hmong and Hispanics say they are confused by instructions when discharged from hospitals.

·         A third of all immigrants report confusion over how to use their prescription medicines – with over half of Iranians, Laotians and Hispanics reporting problems, and a majority of Hmong, Cambodians and Iranians reporting problems reading their prescription labels.

Sources available for media interviews:

Sergio Bendixen, CEO, Bendixen & Associates
305-529-9916 (office) 305-441-7887 (cell)

Sandy Close, Executive Director, New California Media (NCM)
Phone: 415-503-4170

Ignatius Bau, Program Officer, The California Endowment
Phone: 818-932-3240

Patricia Johnson, COO, New California Media (NCM)
Phone: 415-503-4170

An Executive Summary of the poll results, along with background on previous NCM polls, is available at www.ncmonline.com/polls/

About New California Media

New California Media is an association of over 500 print, broadcast, and online ethnic media organizations founded in 1996 by the non-profit Pacific News Service. NCM’s goal is to raise the visibility of ethnic media, expand its access to the advertising dollar and promote an inter-ethnic editorial exchange. Each year, New California Media’s Expo and Awards showcase a who’s who of ethnic media, as well as leaders in multi-cultural marketing, elected officials, advertising agency executives, and mainstream media. NCM is supported by grants from the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Ford Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Community Technology Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, among others. Project partners include the USC Annenberg’s Institute for Justice and Journalism, the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism at San Francisco State, and the Chinese American Voter Registration Committee. For more information, visit the website at www.ncmonline.com.

About The California Endowment

The California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation, was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. For more information, visit www.calendow.org.

******************

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/6448424.htm

Sun, Aug. 03, 2003

Hundreds mourn mom killed by cops

DONATIONS ALLOWED FAMILY TO BURY SAN JOSE WOMAN FROM VIETNAM

By Elise Banducci and Chau Doan

(Mercury News) - San Jose's Vietnamese community members turned out Saturday to mourn a woman not many of them knew but whose shooting death by a police officer galvanized them as few issues have.

Hundreds of local Vietnamese-Americans joined family and friends in laying 25-year-old Bich Cau Thi Tran to rest, even as questions persisted about whether her July 13 shooting was justified.

Regardless of the controversy, the focus at St. Patrick's Cathedral was on two little boys clothed in white.

Tran's sons, Tony, 4, and Tommy, 2, in the traditional Vietnamese mourning dress young children wear for their dead parents, alternately sat with their father and ran to greet friends, possibly too young to understand that they were saying goodbye to their mother forever.

``I'm here to support Bich Cau's family,'' said mourner Michelle Le. ``I hope the two kids will be able to go on with their lives a little more normally, but I know that won't be possible without their mother.''

Tran was killed in the kitchen of her East Taylor Street home by a single gunshot to the chest fired by a San Jose police officer.

The officer, who was responding to a 911 call about an unsupervised child in the street, thought Tran was brandishing a cleaver that turned out to be an Asian vegetable peeler with a six-inch blade.

Since then, police have reached out to an outraged Vietnamese community rallied by Tran's death.

The district attorney's office has called for open grand jury hearings into the shooting, a step not taken since 1996, and the FBI is looking into whether there were any civil rights abuses.

Before the funeral, peaceful protesters gathered at Tran's home to demand that authorities release more information about the shooting. Attorney Felicita Ngo said family members plan to file civil suits within a few weeks. San Jose police had no comment Saturday on the case.

At the funeral, Tran's loved ones remained focused on their loss. Devastated family members followed a white coffin into the church. They wept openly and spoke little.

``I really don't know much about the case,'' Hoang Thi Nguyen, Tran's mother, told a reporter in Vietnamese. Nguyen, who lives in Vietnam, was granted an emergency visa to the United States. ``I just heard that my daughter died and came here to attend her funeral.''

Tran's mother said that two days before her daughter's death, a bird flew in her house and died. She considers that an omen.

Nguyen's trip to the United States was financed by community donations.

Without funds to pay for a burial, Tran's family initially planned a cremation. But donations allowed the family to choose a plot in Oak Hill Memorial Park, where Tran's body could face toward Vietnam.

``I would like the community to continue helping my family through this situation,'' said Nguyen, who said she didn't know how long she would remain in the United States.

Tran's boyfriend and father of her two sons, Dang Bui, declined to talk to reporters and instead clung tightly to the two boys.

The children's smiling faces were a sunny contrast to the crowd's somber mood.

At the cemetery, the boys' moods turned dark. As their father knelt before the burial plot, they looked pensive, worried, and the younger one appeared to be afraid of the giant bulldozer shoveling dirt onto his mother's casket.

As well-wishers tried to comfort the boys, the older child offered his grieving father a drink of water and put a protective arm around the man.

The crowd eventually dispersed, but the father and sons remained at Tran's grave site, which mourners covered with flowers and topped with two small flags -- one the American flag, the other the red and yellow flag of the former Republic of Vietnam.

``The death of Bich Cau Thi Tran was a tragedy, but also a bell to remind our people, our community, that we need to be unified in the fight for justice,'' said Pham Huu Son, president of the Vietnamese-American Community of Northern California. ``Her spirit will last forever, to strengthen and empower the Vietnamese community.''

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Making a Donation

Bich Cau Thi Tran's family has established two funds, one for the children and one for funeral costs. Send donations payable to Bank of the West, PruneYard Towers Branch, 1999 S. Bascom Ave., Campbell, Calif. 95008. Indicate under memo, ``In memorial Cau Bich Tran.'' or ``For Tommy and Tony Bui.''

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contact Elise Banducci at ebanducci@mercurynews.com or (408) 295-3983. 

******************

Korean Mother Faces Deportation After Cultural Misunderstanding
The Korea World, Translated from Korean by Aruna Lee,
News Report, Jul 30, 2003

A Korean immigrant in Houston is facing criminal charges and deportation after what she says was a cultural misunderstanding between her and local authorities. Her case highlights growing concerns among immigrant communities that they are increasingly vulnerable in the tougher immigration climate following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Oak Jin Kim, 42, was charged with child negligence when she left her three small children at her home in Houston's Koreatown on March 24, according to Houston-based Korea World Newspaper. Kim was forced to use the laundry mat a few blocks from her house after her plumbing went awry. In Korea, mothers often leave children at home to make short trips. Kim had instructed her eldest daughter, six-year-old Catherine, to look after her two younger brothers, ages, 4 and 1.

Catherine was told to call 911 if there were any problems. When her youngest brother began to cry, Catherine phoned the authorities. By the time Kim returned home, police had taken her three children to a shelter in Houston and arrested her.

Kim has already served two months in jail, and prosecutors are insisting she spend another nine months. Although Kim is a legal permanent resident of the United States, she may face deportation if the court finds her guilty because foreign residents with criminal records can be removed from the country.

John Fox, pastor of New Beginnings Church in Houston said, "Oak Jin Kim is a good mother. The criminal in this case is cultural differences, in other words there is no crime." The church is circulating a petition to testify to Kim's good character, and many Korean Immigrants in Houston have rallied around Kim's cause.

Many Korean immigrants are also becoming wary of seeking police help because they fear it could lead to possible deportation.

http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=78bddce046f599f30203492b8f845382

******************
About NCVA
Founded in 1986, the National Congress of Vietnamese Americans is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community advocacy organization working to advance the cause of Vietnamese Americans in a plural but united America – e pluribus unum – by participating actively and fully as civic minded citizens engaged in the areas of education, culture and civil liberties.