THE NEED 

While countless communities are severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Asian American community in Greater Boston is being hit harder than most. Many are immigrants who work in food, hospitality, home care, and child care sectors that have been closed. Consequently, these workers have lost their incomes. Because of language barriers and immigration status, not everyone can access public benefits like unemployment and the new stimulus dollars.  These families are in jeopardy of not having enough money to buy basic necessities and pay for housing. To top it off, our community is also facing rising anti-Asian sentiments.  

WHAT WE ARE DOING

Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC), in partnership with Chinese Progressive Association, Vietnamese American Initiative for Development, Asian American Resource Workshop, Greater Boston Legal Services’ Asian Outreach Unit, and Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, launched the Asian Community Emergency Relief Fund for our community. The fund will provide immediate and direct financial support to people in our community who have lost work and are having trouble meeting their basic needs, and may not be eligible for other public benefits. We will continue to provide financial assistance to families until funds are depleted.

THE IMPACT SO FAR

As of June 1st, 2020, we have helped 245 families, totalling 721 individuals. Our applicants are predominately Chinese, Vietnamese, and Khmer people who reside in Boston (with the top three neighborhoods being Chinatown, Dorchester and the South End), Quincy, Malden, Lowell and Randolph. Of the individuals funded, the majority of languages spoken includes Cantonese, Mandarin, Khmer, and Vietnamese, and a smaller percentage includes Thai, Nepalese, Bengali, Brazilian and Urdu.

Among the many families we have helped with your generosity, they include a Chinese single father with two children who could not work at his restaurant job, a Khmer family of three who didn't have healthcare, and a Vietnamese family of six who immigrated to America recently and could not find work.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

You can contribute now to the fund. Your donations will go directly to help families and workers who are impacted by the pandemic and help them pay for food, medical and other basic expenses during this crisis, and will be tax-deductible. The more money we raise, the more families we can help.

This fund has been seeded with a $10,000 initial contribution from the Asian Community Fund at The Boston Foundation through the efforts of Paul Lee and Helen Chin Schlichte.

We will stand together as a community to get through these trying times. 
I hope you will join us.  

Please contact Angela O'Donnell at [email protected] or 857.449.7124 if you have any questions.