Included in this newsletter:

• Another Successful API Youth Forum!

• Inclusion and Equity

• Language Justice Roundtable & VOCA Rally in Sacramento

Another successful API Youth Forum!

On June 1st, CPAF held its 9th annual Asian and Pacific Islander Youth Forum (APIYF) bringing together 153 youth and adults in celebration of Embracing Differences Together. The theme was truly reflected in the variety of multi-cultural performances, including singer Cryshzel, who composed and sang an original piece written particularly for the API Youth Forum, along with a Japanese Tea Ceremony by Ichinobowaryu Senchado, 6th grade Filipina singer Jayda, the Kasalong Thai dance group, Rangashree Dances of India, and Japanese Taiko Drumming by Kishin Daiko.

Attendees had an opportunity to attend one of three workshops including, “Break the Culture of Silence,” “Dress Up, Speak Out: Celebrating Culture While Confronting Violence!” and “Relationships; 'Everybody Wants the Right Person, without Trying to be the Right Person'.” Attendees were able to engage in self-care practices in the healing room filled with a northern light atmosphere and soothing music including opportunities for ear seeding, biotuning, and self-regulation and mindfulness activities. APIYF began with a keynote from youth Dylan speaking about the struggles of culture and identity and overcoming challenges, while ending in the afternoon with a raffle drawing with chances to win prizes. 

A delicious lunch was catered by Sau Can Tho Vietnamese Kitchen. We thank our numerous partner agencies who supported the event in many ways whether by organizing and facilitating a workshop, providing a resource table, and/or co-hosting the event. These include, Asian and Pacific Islander Children, Youth and Family Council, Asian Mental Health Project, Bay Area based Banteay Srei, Koreatown Youth and Community Center, National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse, Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors, Search to Involve Pilipino Americans, South-Asian Helpline and Referral Agency, and South Asian Network. It was an uplifting and inspiring day!

Inclusion and Equity

Recently, CPAF invited Kai Mita, a Program Specialist at Okaeri and Sung Tse of API-PFLAG to speak at an all-staff meeting. Kai shared his journey with staff and how excited he is to continue supporting and learning from the Japanese and LGBTQ+ communities in Los Angeles, while Sung shared her personal experience of supporting her transmasculine child and finding a new community of like-minded individuals. Watch Sung at Korean American Story and on PFLAG Facebook. Their powerful stories provided valuable insights into how organizations like CPAF can be inclusive of LGBTQIA2S+ survivors and communities year-round. In CPAF’s continued work toward being an anti-racist organization, the Equity and Justice Committee (EJC) was formed in 2021. The EJC continues to collaborate with CPAF leadership in moving toward establishing values of racial justice, equity, and radical empathy within CPAF structures, policies, and practices. The mission of the EJC is to reflect CPAF’s core value of nonviolence by helping establish an organization that champions equity and justice among our staff and among the communities we work with. You can read the full EJC mission statement on CPAF’s website here.  

 Language Justice Roundtable
& VOCA Rally in Sacramento 

This month, CPAF participated in the Language Justice Roundtable and Listening Session with Rachel Rossi, Director of the Office for Access to Justice, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Hosted by Bet Tzedek, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) and Public Counsel, language justice advocates from community-based organizations and federally funded programs shared their perspectives from the front lines, while the DOJ provided more information on access to justice initiatives. CPAF’s Executive Director, Patima Komolamit, spoke about the challenges that API survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence face when they are unable to access services and resources because language translation and interpretation is not provided for them during critical times, while highlighting the uniqueness of CPAF in providing the only Emergency Shelter program in Southern California that provides multiple API languages in a culturally competent and responsive environment.  

CPAF staff traveled to the state capitol in Sacramento for the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Rally to stand with over 200 supporters and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. The community came together to call for the state of California to sign a budget plan that includes ongoing funding for victims of crime. With the continued activism of numerous individuals and organizations, Governor Newsom signed $103 million one-time funding for victims’ services programs this past week. While this helps backfill the federal government’s reduction of VOCA grants, the advocacy continues to secure permanent funding enabling survivors’ ongoing access to shelters, crisis hotlines, survivor groups, and in-language support. We thank our dedicated staff for representing CPAF and voicing the critical need for culturally specific services!

Join the many others who have supported CPAF during this unpredictable and ever-changing funding landscape. Your fiscal year-end donations by 6/30 help us to continue providing critical services to domestic violence and sexual assault survivors.