Lao Family Community Development, Inc. assists diverse refugee, immigrant, limited English, and low-income U.S. born community members in achieving long-term financial and social self-sufficiency. The organization encourages community members to establish goals, believe in themselves, and become active, contributing members of society. Lao Family delivers cultural and language appropriate services that address the needs of the entire family unit and help families achieve self-sufficiency in one generation.
Lao Family Community Development, Inc. was founded in 1980 by Southeast Asian refugees to help their fellow refugees rebuild their lives in the Bay Area after escaping the political and social upheaval that ravaged their home countries. Each year Lao Family’s programs deliver housing and financial education, youth development activities, employment services, and family support to over 15,000 immigrants, refugees, asylees, and low-income U.S. nationals in over 25 languages.
As the community and services offered by the organization increased over the past 30 years, Lao Family Community Development, Inc. needed a building that could support its current and future expansion. To help Lao Family meet their communities’ needs, Community Vision provided a $502,500 loan to assist in their acquisition of a 30,000 sq. ft. foot building in the San Antonio neighborhood in East Oakland. Called the San Antonio Neighborhood Resource Center, the building serves as the organization’s headquarters and provides the space needed to expand its programs. Lao Family Community Development, Inc. plans to house other like-minded organizations in the Center, providing working families with a “one-stop” multi-lingual human services center. Loan summary here (pdf).
