Mayor Bowser Announces FY2021 Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Grant Awards

(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (MOAPIA) awarded a combined $213,000 in grant funding to nine community-based organizations that serve Washington, DC’s Asian American and Pacific Islander residents.

The Fiscal Year 2021 Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Grant awardees are:

• Asian American LEAD will support low-income and underserved Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth with educational empowerment, identity development, and leadership opportunities through after school, summer, and mentoring programs.
• Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center will provide critical legal services for AAPI immigrants.
• Asian Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project will provide domestic violence/sexual assault outreach and community health and wellness for the AAPI community.
• Chinatown Service Center will provide essential social services centered on improving the daily lives of AAPI immigrants and their families.
• Hepatitis B Initiative will provide outreach, education, and linkages to screening, counseling, care, and treatment services for infectious diseases such as hepatitis B hepatitis C, HIV, and COVID-19.
• Housing Counseling Services will provide comprehensive housing services to AAPI tenants to support efforts to preserve existing affordable housing options and assist low, and moderate-income AAPI residents pursue homeownership opportunities in the District.
• Reaching All HIV + Muslims in America will address HIV/AIDS with a specific focus on faith communities through education, advocacy, and empowerment.
• Uptown Community Initiatives will provide small business technical assistance to AAPI-owned small businesses in the diverse commercial corridors of Upper 14th Street and Kennedy Street in Northwest.
• Washington English Center will provide English language training and job preparation services so that AAPI immigrants can apply for better employment opportunities.

This grant funding is aligned with the Bowser Administration’s priorities. It is intended to enhance existing community programs focused on education, job and economic development, public safety, civic engagement, health and wellness, youth engagement, arts, and the creative economy, as well as support relief and recovery efforts to AAPI residents and business owners affected by COVID-19.

Organizations were selected based on the degree to which they meet these priorities and target their efforts toward underserved Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in DC.