Letter from the Executive Director and board president

Dear Friends of ACDC, 

While the past two years have been marked by compounding adversity, it is our resilience and care for one another that will define us, and why we chose Collective Care as our 2021 Annual Report theme. Witnessing the love and support among neighbors and across communities inspires us every day in our work, despite the most recent surge in racist sentiments and violent attacks targeting Asian individuals. Partnering with neighboring organizations and elected officials across Boston, Malden, and Quincy has increased the overall reach and support services available to working class and immigrant communities we all serve.

ACDC continues to pool its resources and efforts with partners such as AARW, BCNC, CPA, and GBLS – Asian Outreach Unit to advocate for expanding the quality of life and access to resources for our constituents. This includes advocating for more federal pandemic relief funding for immigrant households and promoting data equity to amplify the needs of underrepresented ethnicities. Data equity is key in dispelling the model minority myth that prevents vulnerable populations from receiving critical services - programs fueled by public and private funders who are informed by inadequate demographic surveys and reports. In addition to advocating for long-term solutions, we worked with our partners to provide translation and interpretation support so that families could apply for much-needed housing relief assistance and access vaccine appointments.

Our placekeeping work anchors the communities we serve by coaching residents of all ages and backgrounds to become community leaders and recruiting emerging artists to collaborate with our resident leaders. ACDC’s community-centered public art projects produce creative solutions to foster neighborly connections and celebrate the vibrant residents, culture, and history of Chinatown. A banner year for our placekeeping efforts, in 2021 we celebrated the inaugural Hudson Street Stoop installation, “Storytell and Sway” by Gianna Stewart and “Where We Belong / 归属,归宿” mural on Oxford Street by Ponnapa Prakkamakul, and the fourth year of launching Residence Lab where Chinatown residents and artists created three unique, temporary installations at Mary Soo Hoo Park, in partnership with the Pao Arts Center and the Greenway.

Thank you to our generous supporters and partners for investing in people and the places they call home alongside ACDC. We look forward to another year of building homes and strengthening communities. 

Sincerely,

Angie Liou, Executive Director

Paul W. Lee, Board President

 
 
 

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