Front Page

May 6, 2022 0

Society’s Other Covid-19 Symptom, Bigotry, Takes a Toll

Low-income Asian American families have faced disproportionate hardships since the Covid-19 pandemic began, as I reported here in the last issue of Sampan. “Many people are surprised to learn that Asian Americans have the highest poverty rate of any racial-ethnic group in Boston — it’s about 29%, ” Carolyn Wong, a researcher at the Institute of Asian American Studies at UMass Boston, told me. Wong is the co-writer of a recently published report on the struggles faced by Asians in the Boston area from the pandemic. “The lowest paid workers […]

May 6, 2022 0

With Immigration Rule’s Fate in Limbo, So Is Fate of Many Asylum Seekers

by Moninisha Yadav

In recent decades, the United States has added approximately 1 million immigrants every year. This has happened in accordance with a number of provisions of immigration law, primarily through the sponsorship of family members who are U.S. citizens. However, when COVID-19 escalated in March of 2020, the number of immigration admissions, which had already been slowing greatly during the Trump administration, came to a virtual stop. As part of its approach to reduce immigration, the Trump administration sought to bypass […]

May 6, 2022 0

As Mother’s Day Approaches, U.S. Faces a Fertility Crisis

by Jeff Millman

It’s Mother’s Day, and fewer people than ever are having children. In the United States the birth rate has plummeted by nearly 20% since 2007. The beginning of this decade saw the lowest numbers for average births ever recorded, and the downward trend shows no signs of stopping. While the causes of the initial drop were well-understood – rates began to fall rapidly during the Great Recession in the late 2000s – economists and policy makers are puzzled by the […]

May 6, 2022 0

From Dick’s Desk at the AACA LITC
(Asian American Civic Association Low Income Taxpayer Clinic)

by Richard Soo Hoo

Dear Dick I am a journeyman finish carpenter. I spent the whole week sorting through my lumber supply invoices and pay records for my construction helper. But….I am relieved. I managed to file my income tax returns by the April 15 tax deadline this year. At the same time, I am worried that the IRS is going to audit me again. I’m being audited for last year. When I went to my mailbox, I noticed a thick letter with the […]

May 6, 2022 0

Failure to Fund Successful Health Services Program Leaves 30,000 Vulnerable Residents, Communities of Color Without Vital Care

by Sampan Staff

On March 29, 2022, ABCD—Action for Boston Community Development—received the shocking news that the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Population Affairs, was terminating funding of the anti-poverty organization’s Title X Family Planning program as of March 31, 2022. For more than 50 years, in collaboration with a vital community health center network, ABCD has done an exemplary job of delivering critical health services to more than 30,000 low-income residents and communities of color. Where are our […]

April 27, 2022 0

Covid-19: Severe Impact on Lower-Income Households

by Max Wei

In Carolyn Wong and Ziting Kuang’s report Asian Americans and the Covid-19 Pandemic, a Multi-Lingual Survey in Greater Boston in 2020-21, the impact of the pandemic on English-limited and low-income Asian families are mainly reflected in financial losses, unemployment, and food and housing difficulties. In their survey, the population is focused on Chinese American, Vietnamese American, and South Asian ethnicities living in the neighborhoods of Chinatown, Dorchester, Malden, and Quincy. The survey also pays attention to the percentage of low-income […]

April 27, 2022 0

One Family’s Struggle to Get Mental Health Care Highlights a Problem Many Asian Americans Still Face

by Jeff Millman

When James started taking a more active role in his mother’s health care needs around six years ago, he came to appreciate something he had not understood before. “I didn’t realize without [a family member’s] help that my mom is actually a survivor,” he said. Born in China, James’ mother emigrated to the United States as a young woman and has lived in the Boston area for over 40 years. She has also dealt with mental health issues since she […]

April 27, 2022 0

Asian Hate Is on the Rise in Massachusetts, but the True Number of Threats, Attacks Remains Elusive

by Chelsea Wang

Last July a Chinese American attorney was approached as she left her office at Tremont Street and Washington Street in Boston. A person came up to her, pulled on her reusable mask, and let the force of the elastic bands slap the mask back against her face. The perpetrator then ran away as the attorney demanded to know: Was she attacked because she was Asian? “I can do whatever I want,” was the response. After the attack, the attorney, who requested […]

April 27, 2022 0

From Dick’s Desk: What’s an HSA?

by Richard Soo Hoo

Dear Dick I’ve been happily working at my current job. I’m an electrician. I love my co-workers. I look forward to coming to work every day. The employee benefits are good, particularly, the health care coverage for me and my family. Everything is fine. That is, until 5 pm last Friday. My supervisor called me into the conference room. I lost my job along with 20 other employees. The company needed to cut costs to remain profitable. Since then, […]

April 27, 2022 0

National Poetry Month2022: Musings

by Moninisha Yadav

April’s nod to National Poetry Month is 30 days filled with recitations, incantations, slam poetry performances and spoken word gatherings that evoke the wonder of the 1950’s Beat Poetry gatherings once perceived as scandalous and impure. The fact that it fades away when May comes is less the calendar’s fault than it is our too short a love affair with poetry.. But as we impatiently wait for our flowers to blossom and for the world to stop hating, beautiful poetry […]

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