Community Service & Outreach
The Community Service and Outreach Committee enables APABA members to reach out to and serve various Asian/Pacific Islander American communities in Los Angeles and surrounding areas. Our focus for the past few years has been to provide community education services to underserved Asian/Pacific Islander American communities.
As an example of our work, for the past couple of years, as part of its ongoing program of community education, the Committee has conducted “Law Day” presentations on basic legal rights to underserved Asian Pacific Islander groups such as the Cambodian and South Asian communities. We have found that due to time conflicts and language interpretation difficulties, it is more efficient for us to present the basic information to college students who, in turn, are asked to share what they learn at Law Day with their families and friends. Using this approach, we have previously conducted presentations at UCLA, Cal State Long Beach, and UC Irvine. We also use Law Day as an opportunity to share insights with students about opportunities in the legal field - not just as lawyers, but also as paralegals, legal assistants, court interpreters, court reporters, and court personnel.
The topics for Law Day are chosen by the student organizations. This past year, we presented basic information concerning criminal law and procedure and immigration law. In addition, the Committee distributed flyers and brochures covering basic legal rights in many areas, including employment rights, the Violence Against Women Act, small claims procedures, tenants rights, and immigration law; many of these flyers were also made available in translated form in Asian languages. We have a very active and popular Committee.
Committee Co-Chairs: Deborah Yim (dyim98@gmail.com) and Halim Dhanidina (hanidina@yahoo.com)
