Spotlight On

Mission:
The mission of Boat People SOS, Inc. (BPSOS) is to assist Vietnamese refugees and immigrants in their search for a life in liberty and dignity by empowering, organizing and equipping individuals and communities - "meeting urgent needs today, empowering communities for tomorrow." Based in Falls Church, Virginia, BPSOS is a national grassroots organization with branch offices in 15 locations nationwide.

Background:
One in ten Vietnamese-Americans has received assistance from BPSOS while still in Vietnam, on the high seas, in a refugee camp, or after their arrival in the United States. In the 1980s, the organization focused on activities centered on joint rescue-at-sea missions with international organizations such as Cap Anamur (Germany) and Medecins Sans Frontieres (France). These missions rescued 3,300 boat persons. In 1990, BPSOS started sending pro bono lawyers to refugee camps to defend the boat people from forced repatriation and launched an advocacy campaign that resulted in the resettlement of over 18,000 boat people to the U.S. after their return to Vietnam.

As all the refugee camps for Vietnamese boat people were closed in 1996, the organization refocused its mission to help Vietnamese refugees and immigrants in the U.S. cope with the consequences of the welfare reforms of 1996. Since 1996, a dozen domestic programs serving 10,000 individuals a year have been established. This variety of programs is designed to create a web of services to address the intertwining and compounding effects of unmet needs on refugee and immigrant families. The organizational culture and mission of BPSOS reflect four core values: excellence, learning, leadership, and accountability.

Current Programs:
At present, a number of distinct programs are implemented in BPSOS branch office locations across the nation that address the variety of intertwining and compounding effects of unmet needs on refugee and immigrant families. These programs, available at BPSOS branch offices in different numbers and at different levels, are grouped into five departments as follows:

Community Development:

• Neighborhood Empowerment and Support through Teamwork (NEST) organizes refugee communities and trains them on self-help and capacity building.
• Road to Independence through Savings and Education (RISE) helps Vietnamese refugees, Amerasians, and victims of human trafficking establish Individual Development Accounts through which their savings are matched with federal or state dollars, prepares them for homeownership, and helps prepare tax returns.
• Mach Song media publishes a monthly publication in Vietnamese and English, produces radio and television programming, and publishes family-oriented books in Vietnamese.
• Cultural Odyssey celebrates the 30 years of the Vietnamese-American presence through a photographic journey through their experiences.
• S.O.S. Service Centers offer immigration-related services at basic fees.

Health and Mental Health:

• Health Awareness Project for Immigrants (HAPI) provides public information and education to Vietnamese immigrant and refugee women to combat breast and cervical cancer.
• Community Awareness Campaign on Occupational Safety (CACOS) raises awareness among the Vietnamese community about occupational safety and health issues, the rights of workers to a safe workplace environment, and OSHA policies and standards.
• Community Awareness and Prevention - HIV/AIDS (CAP-HIV/AIDS) builds capacity for local communities to launch and sustain HIV/AIDS prevention services and activities.
• Survivors of Torture Empowerment Program (STEP) offers information and referral services to torture survivors and assists them in obtaining U.S. citizenship.

Family Services:

• Access to Computers for Community Empowerment (ACCESS) has set up eight community technology centers on the East Coast to provide ESL and computer classes.
• Assistance to Refugee Couples (ARC) provides marriage enrichment and family strengthening services to refugees, immigrants, victims of domestic violence, victims of human trafficking and Amerasians.
• Asian Youth Development (AYD) helps youth ages 10-18 carry out their after-class independent projects, provides mentoring/tutoring for at-risk youth and builds capacity for youth-focused organizations.
• Information and Referral for Immigrant Seniors (IRIS) serves older Vietnamese, guiding them to appropriate services and providing them translation and interpretation if necessary.
• " Teens Wait educates at-risk youth and their parents on teen pregnancy prevention.

Survivor Services:

• Victims of Exploitation and Trafficking Assistance (VETA) provides relief to victims of human trafficking from across the globe. In addition, the program provides cultural sensitivity training to mainstream service providers and assists victims of trafficking with legal and social services.
• Community Against Domestic Violence (CADV) educates the Vietnamese community about domestic violence, provides cultural sensitivity training to mainstream service providers, and assists victims of domestic violence with legal and social services.

Inter-department Programs: Hurricane Recovery Program: Funded by the United Methodist Committee on Relief, private foundations, and private donations, this program assists over 7,000 Vietnamese and Asian families affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Funding Needs:
BPSOS continually seeks opportunities for new partnerships to share the organization's mission and values. By drawing wide-ranging support, BPSOS is able to serve Vietnamese American communities, and additional support is always needed. BPSOS seeks to engage individuals, corporations, and foundations that may not be traditionally represented in this work.

The "Spotlight On" highlights the activities of a different 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving the Metropolitan Washington, DC community. The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight On" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector.

If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight," e-mail a description of your organization, following the above format, to dclibrary@foundationcenter.org, with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.