We Are the City Spotlight: Southeast Asian Development Center
By Aaron Orpilla, Jinia Lee, and SEADC Youth Development Staff
Southeast Asian Development Center (SEADC) aims to equip Southeast Asian Tenderloin residents with the foundation and tools to be self-sufficient and successful in navigating through various institutions. With acknowledgement of the unique histories and cultural backgrounds of Southeast Asian immigrants and refugees, SEADC provides culturally relevant services to support adult and youth clients in our three departmental areas: Economic Success, Health & Wellness, and Youth Development. In our youth development department, we provide college and career readiness programming for K-12 youth. Our curriculum focuses on four outcome areas: Identity, Leadership Development, Health and Wellness, and Academic Enrichment.
During the height of the pandemic, SEADC found diverse ways to engage with youth virtually. We wanted to continue being a support for our youth as they attended school remotely, and we wanted to support their families during this time. We found our youth were experiencing hardships related to school, and that many of their families were experiencing job loss. In response to these challenges, we provided homework help, wellness checks, and biweekly food distribution. Through our biweekly food distribution program, we provided greater access to culturally relevant foods to over 100 families in the Tenderloin neighborhood.
Between Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, SEADC participated in DCYF’s Community Hub Initiative, which allowed us to provide in-person wellness check-ins and homework support for youth. Although we had to limit the number of youth who could participate in our Community Hub due to health and safety protocols, we found the Community Hub Initiative to be a remarkable success amongst our youth. Youth felt connected with each other and with our staff, and, in turn, we saw an improvement in our youth’s academics.
During the time we hosted our Community Hub, anti-Asian hate crimes were at their height in San Francisco. In response, we facilitated workshops for our youth that addressed anti-Asian racism, and we discussed its impact on our youth, their families, their friends, and their communities. These conversations inspired the youth to mobilize themselves and contribute to ongoing social media campaigns that addressed community safety and solidarity.
We fully recognize that we are still in this pandemic, so we are developing creative and responsive approaches to support youth in and out of the classroom during these challenging times. SEADC has remained a dedicated support system for our youth and families in the Tenderloin community, and our programming continues to resonate deeply with our Southeast Asian community.
In 2022, we plan to expand our staff, and with this greater capacity, we hope to better serve the various needs of our youth and families. As SEADC grows and the effects of the pandemic continue to impact our staff and clients, we must be flexible in our work while creating a sustainable environment for our staff, youth, and families.
San Francisco can help children, youth, and families thrive by providing more equitable access to mental health services, affordable housing, job opportunities, and education. In the Tenderloin, there in an undeniable increase in unhoused people and crime in our neighborhood. We try our best as an agency that is on the ground, in the Tenderloin, to support and advocate for our youth and families. We hope that with more mental health, housing, and employment resources for youth and families, San Francisco, and in the Tenderloin in particular, will thrive.
