The mission of this organization was to help Chinese immigrants. They would aid them in various facets of their new lives such as, providing meals, shelter, and medical assistance in times of unemployment or hardship and a unified voice for local Chinese populations. They also served as an objective intermediary authority, resolving individual and group disputes within the community, as well as helping with funeral arrangements for underprivileged families and for those who does not have families. Times have changed since then, the needs of the immigrants new and old alike changed also. Now they need help in learning English, health care, reporting taxes, application for social benefit and Naturalization for them and their parents. The CCBA continues to aid immigrants with their current obstacles.
To protect and further the welfare of the Chinese Americans, all CCBAs of America jointed together to form the “National Chinese Welfare Council” which was originally found in 1957 at Washington DC. The council worked zealously and tirelessly with the White House, States Department, Senator Kennedy, Congress, Immigration Department, and News Media. After many months of hard work and many setbacks, finally we succeeded to raise the immigration quota from 200 per year to 40,000 per year, almost all Chinese immigrants after 1977 are the beneficiary of this great feat.
In the 1970s, when the city’s plans to build a new convention center on H Street between 8th and 11th Streets required the demolition of several Chinese-occupied apartment buildings, the CCBA represented the Chinese community in negotiations with Mayor Washington. The community’s first-generation elderly, many of whom lived alone, would’ve been severely displaced by the construction demolition. As a result of the CCBA’s negotiations, the Mayor agreed to build low-income housing at 6th and H Streets for the community. Under the CCBA’s leadership, funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was secured to construct the Wah-Luck House (House of happiness for Chinese), which included 153 apartments and a large community room. Today, the Wah-Luck House continues to provide subsidized Section 8 housing for elderly and low to moderate-income residents. They only have to pay 1/3 of their income roughly $150 per month.
In addition to the Wah-Luck House the CCBA of Washington DC has done many things to help its less fortunate members. The CCBA has sponsored regular free clinics and to provide free blood testing and flu shots for the uninsured and elderly, provides free Income Tax filing for the low-income families, provides a bus at least once a month to the seniors at Wah-Luck House to take them grocery shopping because most of them do not drive and have no means to get to the grocery stores. When impoverished immigrants feared they could not afford decent burials so far away from their homeland, the CCBA of Washington DC provided free burial sites at Cider Hill, Fort Lincoln, George Washington and Washington National cemeteries so that even the poorest could die with dignity.
The prevalence of chronic Hepatitis B infection in Chinese is at least 8 to 20% in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, most of the patients do not know they were infected. CCBA provides at least 4 free regular Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C screening for Chinese immigrants and provide free Hepatitis B vaccination if needed. Encourage them to seek early treatment to reduce the risk of cirrhosis, liver cancer and eventually liver failure and death.
CCBA will continue to march on providing assistance to those who is in need and stand up for our right.
