Asian Immigrant Women Advocates

The programs and activities of Asian Immigrant Women Advocates (AIWA) focus on the empowerment and self-determination of low-income, limited English-speaking Asian immigrant women and youths through Education, Leadership Development, and Civic Participation. Programs and activities are coordinated according to a specific leadership framework called the Community Transformational Organizing Strategy or CTOS. Educational Programs:Educational programs include Workplace and Digital Literacy classes, thematic workshops for adults, and after school general meetings, and workshops for youth. In 2023, Workplace Literacy classes were held in Spring and Fall, in which participants practiced how to talk about diverse topics, including preparing an emergency kit, community safety, and national holidays. Digital Literacy classes were offered in Spring and Summer, in which AIWA youth members shared their knowledge with women participants about how to use various smartphone apps and functions. In this years workplace safety and health training, the topic of which was Infectious Disease Pandemic Preparedness training for immigrant workers, we provided information regarding: (1)how infectious diseases occur and are transmitted from person to person; (2) signs and symptoms of infection; (3) general personal hygiene and work practices that could prevent and control workplace infection; and (4) specific and practical knowledge especially for homecare, restaurant, and nail salon workers. AIWA Nepali leaders continued holding weekly community support groups to assess community needs and organized workshops providing essential information about health and safety, vaccines, stress management, domestic violence, unemployment insurance, and rental assistance. Leadership Programs:Leadership programs at AIWA include Leadership Development Trainings, committee involvement, public speaking engagements, and intensive leadership opportunities for youths and women to build their skills and confidence, while reinvesting their collective efforts back into the low-income immigrant and other disadvantaged communities. In 2023, women peer leaders trained over 200 immigrants on workplace infectious diseases in Chinese and Nepali. They also held training on the history of the Civil Rights Movements. Women leaders continued organizing themselves in their Senior Trainers Committee. At their monthly meetings, they honed their skills for training new immigrant women workers, developed their ideas for Chinatown safety, and discussed and evaluated AIWA programs. Youth leaders, who cultivated their knowledge and leadership skills at their weekly meetings, conducted ten-week leadership sessions to train new immigrant youths regarding civil rights issues affecting them. The topics of their curricular encompass language justice, patriarchy, homophobia, Asian immigration history, community organizing. Civic Engagement Activities: Civic engagement projects address the surveyed needs of low-income immigrant women and youth. Activities include issue identification and education, self-advocacy, and networking with other organizations. AIWA Homecare Worker Committee members continued their Language Equity Campaign for Chinese-speaking homecare providers working under Alameda County In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) by demanding IHSS to institute a Chinese hotline for its Chinese speaking employees, whose number reaches several thousands. After circulating a petition among IHSS homecare workers, they conveyed it to IHSS, and a meeting was subsequently set up the Committee members and IHSS Public Authority Director. The conversation with IHSS is still ongoing. As a response to the escalation of Anti-Asian hate crimes and violence during the pandemic, AIWA women leaders have advanced their campaign to increase credit card acceptance among Chinatown vendors, which may reduce robbery and make Oakland Chinatown safer and welcoming. They formulated and conveyed letters to the City of Oakland and the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, conducted a meeting with City Council President Nikki Bas, and discussed how the city could support their campaign. The conversation with the city is still ongoing. The leaders have collaborated with other Chinatown community organizations to increase public safety.