Building a more equitable and inclusive society by meeting the changing needs of the Vietnamese American and broader community, honoring our cultural heritage, and building community alongside other communities of color.
Xây dựng và phát triển xã hội công bằng và đa dạng bằng cách thúc đẩy sự chuyển đối phù hợp với nhu cầu của người Việt và của cộng đồng rộng lớn hơn, đồng thời tôn vinh các giá trị văn hóa, di sản và tái thiết một cộng đồng đa sắc tộc.
History
The Vietnamese Association of Illinois (VAI) was incorporated on Aug 5, 1976 and began as an organization dedicated to supporting refugees from Southeast Asia, particularly of people from Vietnam, as they resettled in Uptown and throughout Chicago.
In the ensuing years, VAI has expanded its services and programming to meet the evolving needs in the community, such as supporting families adjusting to life in the United States, assisting them as they apply for public benefits and citizenship, and hosting community building events to celebrate Vietnamese culture. Other past programs also include family health services to educate families about health needs and resources, outreach on various illnesses affecting Vietnamese Americans — such as Hepatitis B and smoking — and healthy food choices and general nutrition education.
In addition to our programs and services, VAI has been extensively involved in advocacy throughout our history. From initial engagement with elected officials in the City of Chicago and State of Illinois, VAI was able to acquire a parking lot from the City and received public support in the acquisition of its office building on Broadway. Additionally, VAI has advocated for funding for community services before the Illinois legislature along with the Pan-Asian Voter Empowerment (PAVE) coalition and for racial justice with ICIRR and Axis Lab. Currently, our advocacy includes providing political education, community organizing, and mobilizing voters.
Most importantly, VAI continues to grow from the spirit of mutual aid assistance of the first wave of Vietnamese refugees and today we continue to adapt our services and programming to respond to community needs.
Our Organization Today
The first wave brought 28,000 people of Vietnamese descent to Chicago and the surrounding metropolitan area. Since then, our community has grown to almost 40,000 people throughout Illinois.
Today, most Vietnamese Americans entering the United States are often young people emigrating through their spouses or for school (international students). For Vietnamese Americans new to America, VAI remains a central location for services and information to resources, especially for those seeking to apply for benefits. We continue to provide language assistance for new Vietnamese immigrants in Illinois, as well as connecting them to resources and information for healthcare, housing, public benefits, and more.
Due to the changing needs of our communities, VAI’s programs and services have similarly shifted over time. While we started by providing a wide range of refugee resettlement services —including employment training, job placement, and interpretation and translation services — today, we are now more broadly focused on services serving youth, elderly community, and immigrants.
VAI programs include:
Today, VAI still serves a substantial number of Vietnamese Americans and can provide assistance in Vietnamese — but our programs and services are also open and available to the diverse immigrant community in Uptown and in DuPage County. We’re glad to serve other community members: Black Americans as well as immigrants from Syria, Iraq, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mexico, and other countries. Our staff is here to help in Vietnamese, Arabic, Thai, and Spanish.