For the past two decades, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have remained the fastest-growing racial, ethnic group in the United States. Despite growth in population, a deep income analysis shows a widening inequality throughout the entire AAPI community. Even within the AAPI community, income inequality varies vastly among Asian origin groups.
As the AAPI population continues to grow and the income inequality gap persists, cities will need to match their outreach strategies to accommodate the needs within the vast spectrum of AAPI communities. For many low-income Asian Americans, language barriers, navigating daily and civic life and finding stable jobs and housing remain hot button issues. The City of South San Francisco, California’s Economic and Community Development Department developed a strategy to expand its Promotores benefits navigation program to reach more of its AAPI population.
Priming the Promotores
Started in 2022, the Promotores program employed two half-time staffers to provide navigation services to South San Francisco residents. The Promotores staff referred clients to a suite of agencies and programs such as housing, social services and legal aid nonprofits. Based on metrics provided by city officials, Promotores served more than 450 clients with a large percentage of Spanish-speaking households between 2022 and 2024. Despite this success within the Spanish-speaking community, the city identified a program gap within the AAPI community.
According to the United States Census, 43% of South San Francisco residents identify as Asian Americans. Despite the large AAPI population and overall success of the Promotores, only 62 individuals who identified as Asian American had been served by the program, according to statistics provided by city staff.
As part of NLC’s 2024 Advancing Economic Mobility Rapid Grant cohort, the City of South San Francisco’s Economic and Community Development Department identified a series of AAPI engagement event opportunities. Through these events, the City of South San Francisco hoped to reach 100 AAPI individuals and provide benefits navigation services to at least five of those individuals. The engagement events spanned throughout the fall and winter, such as Tagalog and Cantonese-language Story Time classes. The city’s inaugural Lunar New Year Night Market served as the capstone event for the enhanced outreach strategy.
Ringing in the Lunar New Year
For AAPI communities worldwide, Lunar New Year marks a celebratory period filled with family, food and myriad traditions. Given the importance of the holiday, the City of South San Francisco partnered with two nonprofit organizations, Unitedly and the 4Cs of San Mateo County, to provide administrative, outreach and event support. These partners used their decades of trust-building and programs within the AAPI community to provide legitimacy, expertise and connections for the Lunar New Year Night Market. In addition, the City of South San Francisco utilized a partnership with a local community college, Skyline College’s Bay Area Entrepreneurship Center, to create a cohort of students to provide input on the elements of a successful night market. The student cohort also provided pro bono event support.
With the new suite of partnerships, the City of South San Francisco hosted their inaugural night market complete with local food stalls, photo booth and traditional lion dancers attracting approximately 1,000 people. Following are a few additional metrics from city officials indicating the event’s success.
- 400 attendees signed up to receive more information on city services and programs such as benefits navigation.
- 94 people directly signed up for benefit navigation services provided by the Promotores or partners.
- Seven AAPI individuals had one-on-one consultations with the Promotores program the Monday after the night market — a 10 percent increase on the program’s previous total of AAPI clients served.
“The inaugural Lunar New Year Night Market was a resounding success, drawing a diverse and multigenerational crowd,” said South San Francisco Mayor Eddie Flores. “We are deeply committed to fostering a vibrant and inclusive community within South San Francisco, and we look forward to continuing our dedicated efforts to enhance the quality of life for all residents, particularly within the AAPI community.”
Looking Forward
While Lunar New Year only comes around once a year, the City of South San Francisco is keeping up the momentum. In honor of AAPI Heritage Month, the City of South San Francisco is continuing their Promotores outreach at multiple events — for example, hosting a presentation of dragon boats in city council chambers to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. Another is a film screening at the library focused on the story of Filipino nurses providing life-saving care at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of South San Francisco is also planning a special Story Time celebration for Cantonese and Tagalog speakers complete with snacks, crafts, and family-friendly cultural activities.
Through the continued outreach and successes demonstrated from this strategy, the City of South San Francisco aims to build a more comprehensive and robust Promotores program through new grant opportunities. For local leaders looking to expand their outreach to the growing AAPI population, consider how your city programs align with existing organizations and entities and utilize community resources to support your strategies.
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