NAPCA Awarded Funds From The Administration on Community Living (ACL

Contact: Joon Bang
joon@napca.org

SEATTLE, WA- The National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA) announces $213,000 (annually for 3 years) award from the Administration on Community Living (ACL) that will build capacity for new technical service offerings across NAPCA’s multilingual Helpline and National Resource Center on Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Aging programs. NAPCA is the only national non-profit organization specializing in programs and services catered to AAPI older adults and their caregivers.

“Addressing language barriers and connecting communities to resources are at the heart of our work. We are thankful for ACL’s commitment to us and excited for the opportunity to share technical assistance with HFC (formerly Hilarity for Charity), because it will get us one step closer to accomplishing our mission,” says Joon Bang, President and CEO of NAPCA. This project will develop language access to HFC’s Recharge Respite and Extended Relief Respite grant programs, also collaborating to develop new support group options for AAPI millennial caregivers who are caring for a person with Alzheimer’s Disease or related dementias (ADRD). According to the 2010 Census, nearly half (47%) of AAPI older adults are limited English proficient (LEP), and 69.3% of AAPI families speak a language other than English at home (2010 US Census).

“We are delighted to collaborate with HFC, Evaluation Specialists, ADvancing States, ARCH National Respite Network, and the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF),” says Joon, with in language support being developed from application through submission via NAPCA’s multilingual national Helpline. Since the launch of NAPCA’s multilingual national Helpline in March, 2020, NAPCA has received over 2,200 calls and 11,000 website visits for in-language resources.

“HFC is thrilled to collaborate with NAPCA and work to ensure that AAPI family caregivers who are facing Alzheimer’s disease have increased access to respite services, support, and community,” says Alexandra Villano, Senior Director of Program Development & Strategy at HFC. “Alzheimer’s family caregivers are also at risk for cognitive decline and we hope that through our partnership with NAPCA, together we can ensure AAPI caregivers stay brain healthy while caring for their loved ones.”

According to one AARP survey, 42% of AAPIs are providing care to an older adult, compared to 22% of the general population. This statistic doesn’t account for the many younger caregivers not surveyed, but with “caregiving inherently part of our communities- due to the cultural value of filial piety,” says Joon, “we know caregiving is increasingly prevalent in many AAPI communities, especially now during a worldwide pandemic, with multiple generations involved in that care.”

Evaluation Specialists will evaluate the project, which will span from 2020-2023. Jan Vanslyke, Founder and Principal of Evaluation Specialists, “congratulates NAPCA on receiving an ACL award to bring much-needed respite services to AAPI caregivers in languages they understand. We are delighted to partner with NAPCA and HFC on this new project. We are especially excited to be evaluation partners in this national effort, bringing our recent five years of experience evaluating and improving the effects of programs to support family caregivers to bear on such important work.”

“We thank ACL, and all the partners we look forward to working with through this project, for helping us advance what is often the biggest barrier to accessing respite for AAPI families, language access,” says Joon. “NAPCA looks forward to being an ally to AAPI families, and their current and future service providers, into the future.”

More information on the project, including how to access in-language support to apply for HFC’s Recharge Respite and Extended Relief Respite grant programs, will be available on NAPCA’s website, www.napca.org/resource. Follow NAPCA, HFC, and all our project partners on social media to see our progress and learn other updates along the way!

NAPCA is the nation’s leading advocacy and service organization committed to the dignity, well-being, and quality of life of AAPI as they age, serving communities across America for over 40 years. In response to the Covid19 pandemic, the Helpline program relaunched in March 2020. Since then, the Helpline has continued developing new service offerings to respond to the direct service needs of AAPI older adults and their caregivers across the country.

HFC (formerly Hilarity for Charity) was founded by Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen. HFC is a national non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness, inspiring change, and accelerating progress in Alzheimer’s care, research, and support. HFC’s mission is to care for families facing this disease, educate young people about living a brain-healthy life, and activate the next generation of Alzheimer’s advocates.

Evaluation Specialists is a woman-owned small business entity and LGBTQ-owned firm. They work with community-based prevention, health promotion, education, and social service programs to help them use evaluation to do the most for good. Evaluation Specialist’s mission is to use evaluation to create positive social impact, with collective expertise in quantitative and qualitative methods, including traditional and innovative applications.

The University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) School of Nursing currently collaborates with NAPCA through UCSF’s NIH grant to lead the Collaborative Approach for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Research and Education (CARE). CARE aims to address the gap and reduce disparities in research and participation among AAPI through the creation of a research registry of AAPI who are interested in participating in various types of research.

ADvancing States represents the nation’s 56 officially designated state and territorial agencies on aging and disabilities and supports visionary state leadership, the advancement of state systems innovation and the articulation of national policies that support long-term services and supports (LTSS) for older adults, individuals with disabilities, and their caregivers.

The ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center assists and promotes the development of quality respite and crisis care programs- to help families locate and use respite and crisis care services in their communities- and to serve as a strong voice for respite in all forums through its advocacy arm.