Social Services Ministry Celebrates Unique Partnership

Mar 3, 2016, Noon – Culbertson Hall is especially festive today, with laughter, food, and boisterous greetings filling the room. The occasion? A celebration of the partnership between Cameron House, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach (APILO), and Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS).

Yulanda Kwong, currently serving in her 13th year as Director of Social Services Ministry at Cameron House, takes a moment to share about this unique collaboration that began in 1978.

How did this partnership begin?

Dean Ito Taylor, current Executive Director of APILO, was actually there 38 years ago, along with Harry Chuck, when the partnership started! AWS was not founded until 1988, so I believe the three agencies began working together at that time. But Cameron House worked with APILO (formerly known as Nihonmachi Legal Outreach) earlier.

What are some of the ways the organizations partner with each other?

We have been partnering to provide holistic services to domestic violence survivors. This is a very unique model where APILO provides the legal assistance, AWS provides the shelter, and Cameron House provides case management and support. A domestic violence survivor may need all of these services and assistance when leaving an abusive situation. We have shared clients amongst the three agencies, since we are each assisting them based on our expertise. For example, a client who is seeking assistance at Cameron House may need legal help. Our case managers will work together with the APILO attorneys in helping this client. Another example is that a client who is staying at AWS, may participate in Cameron House’s parenting workshop, while also receiving legal assistance from APILO. While we each specialize in different areas, we all provide services with a client-centered approach and offer culturally and linguistically appropriate services to the API community. Finally, we also apply for grants together and share the responsibilities that come with that.

Why is it important to maintain a good relationship with their staff? 

 Changes in staff and programs will eventually happen for any organization for over so many years. However, because of our similar beliefs and philosophy of serving the under-served Asian Pacific Islander community, the collaborative’s energy continues to thrive, our fire continues to burn, and our spirit continues to be uplifted. Throughout history, our collaborative relationship has been positive. That’s why it’s important to strengthen our working relationship with each other today even if there are changes.

Although I don’t know some of the newer staff from the other two agencies, my experience with everyone involved in this partnership is that they work for these organizations because they want to help the community. They have the heart, compassion, and dedication to offer their knowledge and skills to help carry out the mission of their organization.