BPSOS (Boat People SOS) - Center for Community Advancement (BPSOS-CCA), formerly known as BPSOS CA, has been serving the community since 2000 as part of the national BPSOS network of branch offices. BPSOS-CCA is a thriving resource center that provides resources and services to the Vietnamese community in Orange County.
We continually work in partnership with other organizations to efficiently provide services, offer high-quality assistance for clients to navigate resources and share information about important policy changes in a culturally competent way. At our office, our daily work orbits around the goal to empower the community in their pursuit of liberty and dignity.
We offer the below programs and services to support our community members with their needs and empower them in their everyday life.
Education and Immigration Programs
We provide free English-as-a-Second-Language and Citizenship Education classes in English and in a bilingual setting to help students improve their English skills. Additionally, our classes encourage students to gain important tools about how to navigate their community resources and reach their educational or professional goals. Our Citizenship education classes teach students the basic requirements of becoming a United States citizen and the different elements of the naturalization interview. Furthermore, we are staffed with bilingual (Vietnamese and English-speaking) Department of Justice partially accredited representatives. They provide assistance in reviewing and submitting naturalization applications at low cost for USCIS citizenship applications (N-400 & N-600), USCIS fee waivers (I-912 & I-942), and green card renewals applications (I-90), and other immigration issues.
Occupational Safety Trainings
We offer OSHA-Standard Health and Safety Training for Food Restaurant workers, employers, and community advocates. Our training topics include chemical hazards, ergonomic and infectious hazards (especially COVID-19), worker/employer rights.
California Department of Developmental Services, and Regional Center of Orange County
BPSOS CCA is partnered with Regional Center of Orange County (RCOC) under the Family Mentor Program and the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to serve families with intellectual/developmental disabilities. We aim to guide and assist these families with acquiring disability services and to empower them to practice their parental rights. Families can also find comfort and ease in speaking their native language with our bilingual staff (English and Vietnamese). Services include but are not limited to: In Home Support Services (IHSS), application assistance and appeals, SSI application assistance and appeals, Individualized Education Program (IEP) support, ABA Service application assistance, and Conservatorship.
Fish Contamination Education Collaborative
Our Fish Contamination Education Collaborative program goal is to help the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) share important health information with hard-to-reach individuals about the negative health effects of eating contaminated fish caught from the Palos Verdes Shelf Superfund Site. We conduct outreach to both English and Vietnamese-speaking anglers in the Orange County area.
Health Programs
We are partnered with Regional Center of Orange County under the Family Mentor Program and the California Department of Disability Services to guide and assist families with intellectual/developmental disabilities in acquiring disability services and to empower them to practice their parental rights. We are also partnered with the local Public Law Center to provide eligible families with monthly legal workshops. Furthermore, we host monthly support groups to discuss topics of interest such as preventing/managing chronic disease, nutrition, taking care of mental health, etc. Additionally, we work with the Boys and Girls Club of Garden Grove to help teens and their families navigate learning about mental health and accessing basic resources and advocate mental health issues to county leadership and agencies. Learn More
Impact
In the past year, BPSOS-California's program has been able to provide services to:
The Adult Education Coordinator is responsible for improving the quality of education in the classroom by implementing adult education programs at BPSOS...
We are seeking a Developmental Disability Service Coordinator in Orange County to provide a variety of case management services for those in our community who are developmentally disabled…
