Through the development of a comprehensive youth education model, OCAPICA works to improve the health of Pacific Islander communities in Orange County, California. Data shows that Pacific Islanders have high rates of obesity, alcohol and drug use, as well significant levels of poverty and low rates of education attainment. In partnership with Anaheim Union High School District, OCAPICA developed a pipeline program providing in-school and after-school activities to support the development of students and families. Centered around the student, we work from high school entrance through college completion providing health and education interventions that include the promotion of physical activity, mental health awareness, nutrition education, academic tutoring and mentorship, college preparation and support, and financial assistance. By doing so, we provide students the tools and resources needed to complete degrees of higher learning as a pathway out of poverty, ultimately improving the health of all communities.
Healthy Asian Pacific Islander Youth Empowerment Program (HAPI-YEP)
Pipeline Vision
OCAPICA Scholars Program
Assessment: In order to understand what mattered to the community and why, we started by conducting a literature review to gather preliminary information on why the success of Pacific Islanders in the United States was so limited and what resources were currently available to the community. As a result, we found it necessary to further the available information about the community by conducting our own community needs assessment. Through key-informant interviews and small focus groups with youth and adults alike, we were able to identify the significant needs of the community and to begin to paint the picture of why Pacific Islanders were suffering from high rates of poverty and limited access to resources.
Planning: Following the model of Community Based Participatory Research, utilizing it as a catalyst for community ownership of programs and data, we continued the conversation by hosting a visioning session that invited key leaders, community partners, and youth from throughout the state of California to dream about the possibilities and discuss what it would take to create a pipeline out of poverty. With a mission to improve the overall health and well being of our Pacific Islander communities through health education and access to higher degrees of learning, the idea to start with an after school program that expanded into a college support and scholarship program at the high school level was born. By doing so, we believe that the students and families we provide opportunities will further the pipeline to success and begin to shape the future of the students to follow and improve the success of their entire families.
Taking Action: Taking action, we started out by contacting schools with the highest numbers of Pacific Islander students in Orange County, and identified Anaheim Union High School District as one with the highest numbers. Starting at one school, in hopes to expand to others in time, we met with school teachers, club advisors, and students alike to discuss what it was they would like to see in a program that would further develop their needs. As a result, OCAPICA developed an after school health and education program that addressed the community and cultural aspects of youth needs. Simultaneously, we worked with school administrators and teachers to develop a cultural understanding about the community so that they too could understand and empower the students into success. In this multilevel approach, we found that the ideas and opportunities for support and success would grow exponentially from there.
Evaluation: To evaluate the effectiveness of our programs and to determine the impact on the community we have maintained direct communication with the students tracking them from start to finish. In addition, for individual activities and interventions we had the students complete pre/post surveys to identify the successes and challenges in activities. Given the feedback provided by the students we have added additional programs and services for support as well as worked with other community partners to further develop and support the student. In addition, we sought additional resources and funding to further expand the program services throughout the district.
Sustaining the Work: To sustain our efforts, we continuously seek additional funding opportunities in hopes of expanding our programs and services as a means to serve additional students. What started out as an after school tutoring and mentorship program is now a comprehensive program providing mental health support and counseling, academic and personal advising, family resources and support, college preparation and financial assistance, and health education among many other things. In addition, we continue to diversify the pipeline by guiding students into successful careers and hope to sustain the project over time by maintaining close relations with alumni of the program in hopes that they will return to the community and find ways to give back through financial resources and other means. Lastly, we continue to work with the schools to empower and encourage them to take ownership of these activities so that it becomes an embedded piece of the institutions curriculum.
As a result of our pipeline program, students are more likely to succeed in higher education and are projected to improve the health status of their families. Statistics currently show that students who are able to make it through year two of college are more likely to persist and come out with degrees of higher learning. As it is right now, our program has a 97% retention rate through year 3 of college and is about to see it’s inaugural cohort of students graduate from college. Because of our activities, the community is better educated, well informed, and has increased access to resources and support that they would not have otherwise. In addition, the school sites have become the center of the community and a point of success for all.
