Hmong American Mutual Assistance Association

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Introduction

Even with the strength in numbers we gain from living and working within our Near Northside Minneapolis Community, we know that the scope of the challenges identified clearly dictates that our limited resources must be leveraged many times to achieve our desired outcomes. Actively seeking partners who can deliver special services in a timely and cost effective way for our Hmong Community members in Minneapolis is a daily effort. Over time we have developed a network of associate organizations, both Hmong- and Greater Metro-based upon whom we can count to share our daily work.

Cooperative and Collaborative Partners within Our Hmong Minnesota Community

HAMAA has developed an extensive network of collaborative and cooperative alliances over the past decade for Family Support Services, including:
• Hmong Higher Education Association – Is our partner in assisting our Hmong Teens prepare mentally, physically and financially for the rigors of college and technical advanced education degrees.
• Lao Veterans of America – A partner association that serves the general needs of our former soldiers who served with the CIA during the “Secret War” in Laos during the Southeast Asian Conflict, provides regularly updated membership logs for contact and outreach in our Community, especially to our Hmong seniors.
• Hmong United International Council – A recently formed association representing the Hmong 18 Clans in Minnesota, the organization serves our Hmong Community in resolving marriage, traditional business contract and basic legal issues between Clan families and as a point of contact to the Minnesota legal system for interpretations of cultural mores and differences in law interpretations based on traditional rules.
• Hmong National Organization – A leading partner in the Census 2000 count is also our long-time cooperative ally in forming Hmong Minnesota Community collective strategic programs for Minnesota-wide Hmong Community developments.
• Lao Women Association – Provides Near Northside women’s services to our Lao women, including parenting and family planning and works to reduce tobacco use among veterans and youth.
• South East Asian Prevention & Intervention Network (SEAPIN) – Is a cooperative effort of Lao Family of Minnesota (St. Paul), United Cambodian Association of Minnesota and HAMAA to provide drug, alcohol, and substance abuse education and counseling.
• Asian Community Health Center – A Community resource for traditional Asian medical treatment and health maintenance provides level one service to our Hmong Community.
• Children’s Hospital and Clinics – through the Hmong Community interpreters and healers, provides specialized treatment at level two for our youth, especially in the realm of Mental Health Services and the treatment of clinical depression.
• Lao Family Community of Minnesota – A long-time collaborative partner providing many services to our Hmong Community in Minnesota is the largest service provider in St. Paul and has been our contract partner with Minneapolis Public Housing Agency in providing housing mobility services.

Partnerships with Greater Metro Community Organizations

HAMAA has traditionally strengthened its position and special services skills through collaborative programs with local agencies of the Greater Metro Area. Among these collaborations are examples as:
• Youth Tobacco Cessation Coalition – In cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Health, HAMAA is serving as a member of the Asian Pacific Tobacco-Free Coalition of Minnesota, a growing group of Asian-American Mutual Assistance Agencies rallying to support youth and adult efforts to kick the tobacco habit. Numbering ten agencies presently, we expect the coalition will represent participation by the greater number of 68 Asian Communities in Minnesota as the anti-tobacco initiative gets rolling in FY2001.
• Alternative Secondary School – The City, Inc. is our collaborative partner in providing alternative education pathways, mainly for our Hmong youth. In some cases, our youth, especially for those arriving in the last years from the refugee camps in Thailand, have had great difficulty in learning English and adapting to American lifestyles. Avoiding “youth-gang” activities and providing a means to build upon personal skills while enhancing self-awareness and pride are foremost factors in this program as an alternative to traditional high school education.
• Basset Creek Valley Interim Use Committee -- A voluntary collaborative effort with City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and local businesses in an effort to redevelop much of the Sumner-Lyndale-Glenwood area comprising the near Northside of Minneapolis. Containing the remains of one-time public housing tracks known as the “Hollman Consent Decree,” the ground soil is being tested and restored preparatory to redevelopment. HAMAA has provided much of the explanation and support to the Hmong Minneapolis Community in preparation for this extensive restoration project.
• Harrison Neighborhood Association -- To revitalize the Near Northside Minneapolis Community, especially along our Glenwood Avenue Corridor, HAMAA has teamed with HNA and its greater Near Northside Community members to plan for Community improvements. This collaborative effort is underway to clean up the streets and neighborhoods through volunteer services and program planning including yard and street beautification, relocation of people-friendly businesses including specialty shops and restaurants and increased on-street security through Neighborhood Watch and collaborative programs with the Minneapolis Police Department.
• Minneapolis Police Department - Juvenile Division – Through our HAMAA supported center for Hmong Adolescent Development we have formed a daily liaison with the Minneapolis Police Department.-Juvenile Division and links to the Ramsey and Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department and the Minnesota Gang Strike Force to confront and resolve the problem of youth-gang activity within our Hmong Community.
• University of Minnesota Extension Service – Providing a number of services in appropriate cultural language, HAMAA has teamed with the University of Minnesota Extension Service to make available within the Hmong Minneapolis Community a number of specialized information programs, including: Nutrition and Sanitation; Housing, Home Ownership; Citizenship and ESL; and Small Business Entrepreneur Workshop. Each University course area is hosted within HAMAA by one of our Programs for continuity and feedback.
• Southeast Asian Summer Picnic – in collaboration with the Minneapolis Police Department has organized the annual Southeast Asian Summer Picnic to promote good relations between the Southeast Asian community, especially the youth, and the Minneapolis Police Department.
• Citizenship Promotion Activity – partnering with the University of Minnesota Extension Service –- Hennepin County and the Hmong American Partnership, HAMAA has previously sponsored citizenship studies with English as a Second Language basics for our Hmong adults (often ages 45 years and up) who are finding time and language difficult obstacles to citizenship. Restarted in late 2000, the program is run presently with Lao Veterans of America in determining the legal status of taking the citizenship test in native tongue for Hmong veterans of the “Secret War” in Laos.
• Minnesota Law Center Summer Interns Program– In cooperation with the Hennepin County Bar Association, our Agency offers paid Summer internships to local Lao/Hmong teens who participate in a four part introduction to the court system for youth. As part of the developing Youth Council of HAMAA and our Center for Hmong Adolescent Development for Runaways and “Youth Gang” activities, our teens observe the steps of the legal system directly affecting those who break the laws and must pay the consequences.
• MELD for Hmong Parents Program – A coalition of Twin Cities Social Service Agencies providing parenting services to our Hmong Minneapolis Community, considers the issues and needs of the families, including childcare, medical care, youth programs and senior citizen services especially as they engage with the greater Minneapolis Community through MFIP participation and through employment.
• Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging – A recent partner in the effort to locate and provide services to our Hmong senior citizens in North Minneapolis who require assistance with in-home health care, medical watch, home environment remediation and safety and security services.
• Greater Minneapolis Day Care Association – A guide partner in establishing Day Care Centers that are in great need for our Hmong families as single parent households or both parents establish a working routine.