Our community has witnessed the tragic and senseless murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Jacob Blake. Countless other Black lives have been lost or forever harmed by police brutality and the injustices in our nation. Cameron House stands in solidarity with our black communities when we say “Black Lives Matter.” 

Racism and white supremacy must be eradicated. 

Chinese Americans have suffered racial discrimination and violence since their diaspora to the Americas. Chinese women and girls were sold into slavery and servitude, and Cameron House was founded in 1874 as a response to those and many other injustices. As a mission of the Presbyterian Church, USA, we seek to honor our faith tradition and ethnic heritage to address the social scourge of racism and inequality. We empathize with our Black and Brown brothers and sisters and declare without equivocation that prejudice and discrimination based on race and ethnicity are antithetical to our faith and to the values upon which our faith and our organization were founded. 

Acknowledging these wrongs are just the beginning of our journey towards reconciling what is and the future that can be. This fundamental conversation is long overdue, and we know that we must take action. As we reflect with increased focus on how society and culture have perpetuated these unjust systems, our youth, and social services programs will now actively combat racism and white supremacy in our Bay Area community. 

To move forward, we must further our personal and collective education, and genuinely look at how our current policies and practices reflect the humanitarian values we hold so dearly. As a multi-social services and youth development organization, it is our responsibility to empower and equip our clients and participants with effective tools to inspire, engage, and lead in these difficult, but necessary conversations.

金美倫堂發表的《黑人生命寶貴的聲明》

我們的社區目睹了對Breonna Taylor、Ahmaud Arbery、George Floyd和Jacob Blake悲慘和無情的謀殺。無數其他黑人因警察的暴行和我們國家的不公正而失去生命或受到永久傷害。當我們說 “黑人的生命很重要 “時，金美倫堂是會與我們的黑人社群團結一致站在一起。

種族主義和白人至上主義必須予以剷除。

美國華人自散居美洲以來，一直遭受種族歧視和暴力。華人婦女和女孩被賣為奴隸和奴役。成立於1874年的金美倫堂正是對這些和許多其他不公的現象作出回應。作為美國長老會的一個使團，我們章顯信仰和民族傳統的信義，以應對種族主義和不公的社會禍害。我們體諒黑人和棕色人種的弟兄姐妹，並毫不猶疑地斷言，任何基於種族和族裔的偏見和歧視是與我們的信仰以及我們組織賴以建立的價值觀有所背道而馳。

承認這些錯誤只是我們調和現狀和發展未來的第一步。這種基本的對話早該進行，正正是因為知道如此，所以我們必須採取行動。當我們更加關注社會和文化如何使這些不公正的制度長期存在時，我們的青年和社會服務活動現在將積極打擊存在於灣區社區中的種族主義和白人至上主義。

為了向前邁進，我們必須進一步開展對我們的個人和集體教育，並真正審視我們目前的政策和做法如何反映我們所珍視的人道主義價值。作為一個多元社會服務和青年發展組織，我們有責任增強我們的服務對象和參與者的能力，並為他們提供有效工具，以激勵、參與和領導這些困難但必要的對話。

During this time, Cameron House asks for your support.

Check here for organization updates and here for community resources in English and Chinese.

Thank you to everyone who has donated thus far to our Covid-19 Relief Fund. Some of our staff have put together a video to recognize those who have helped us in this difficult time, all of us at Cameron House appreciate your continuous support.

Posted 5/29/2020

Learn about how a case management client and a Cancer Support Group member utilized Cameron House’s Social Services during their time Sheltering In Place.

Posted 5/22/2020

Click the orange play button to listen in your browser or click the title track to read the full transcript of this recording.

Within the last month of Shelter-in-Place, Cameron House has kept our Food Pantry open to those that need it most. Learn about a BAP parent who utilized food pantry for the very first time below.

Posted 5/4/2020

Youth Ministries has also been busy checking in on their youth as well as continuing Friday Night Club through Zoom calls! Learn more about what they’ve been up to with this interview with the Director of Youth Ministries, Laurene Chan!

Posted 05/4/2020

Updates from Youth Ministries since this interview was conducted on 4/9/2020:

•  Our First Saturday in May Cameron Carnival was greatly missed, but ideas are brewing for 2021. The Friday Night Club (FNC) Middle School Boys Club harnessed their creative juices and time, and still produced some awesome prizes! Check them out!

•  Andrea, a Junior club leader, has been writing letters to her club kids to encourage them to keep physical correspondence with their friends and loved ones.

•  BAP teacher, Corey Chan, has also created some fun coloring sheets based on various Cameron Carnival activities! Download them here.

•  Youth Ministries (YM) team continues to wait patiently for direction from the Department of Children, Youth, and their Families  (DCYF) regarding summer programming.

•  Special shout out and blessings to our DCYF Program Specialist, Glen Andag, who got re-deployed to work front-line essential services in supporting our community without housing for the next three weeks. Take Care, Glen!! We miss you already!

•  BAP staff is getting another Activity Pack ready to send out to our BAP families. Check out some of the fun activities from the first pack!

•  BAP teachers have started wellness checks with the students and their parents.

•  Our annual Academic and Vocational Scholarship Awards will still be presented this year! Applications are in and interviews will happen next week for high school seniors and FNC Youth Development Leaders who applied.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic violence affects everyone, impacting lives across the boundaries of race, gender, and class. For some people, the issue of domestic violence can raise feelings of discomfort and discourage further dialog when this topic arises in a conversation. Unfortunately, when shame, stigma, or fear silence conversations about domestic violence, this issue becomes invisible and unspoken despite its pervasiveness in our society. To continue the conversation and learn more about this complex and challenging topic, we interviewed one of our case managers who works on the front lines serving survivors of domestic violence.

CH: What are some of the causes of domestic violence?

DVCM: Well, most of the survivors I work with are immigrants. Living in a new country, there’s a lot of economic stress, there’s a lot of anger, and there’s often a lack of communication in families. If they don’t have an advanced education, it’s really hard for them to find a job and raise their kids. On top of that, beating up the wife, beating up the kids might be accepted in the culture they come from. So for women, they feel they have to live with it because it’s normal. So the cultural factors and also the lack of communication.

I have some clients who met their husband for the first time when they arrived in the United States. They thought that they could have the American dream, that it would be a new life. But once they’re here, they meet their husband who is sixty or seventy, much older than they thought. And because the husband is a citizen, he has the power to say, “I gave you the green card that lets you stay here so you have to listen to me.” So because of that power difference, there’s a lot of abuse happening.

CH: Do you ever categorize your cases?

DVCM: Even though we don’t want to, we sometimes have to put the abuse into levels. So the starting level could be verbal abuse like yelling or name calling, and then it goes up to emotional abuse. They will control you by not allowing you to go to work, have friends, or have a bank account. They also might threaten you with taking away your green card so you will get deported. The most intense are physical and sexual abuse. The reality of our work is that we need these levels to create priorities for deciding which survivors to connect with the limited resources out there. For instance, legal support is really, really hard to find for our clients because of the lack of legal staff, and we don’t have access to any attorneys who can speak Chinese either.

CH: How do you support survivors?

DVCM: People sometimes call us “The everything person” because we provide case management, which includes accompanying them to court hearings, to the attorney’s office, and to resources such as legal support, shelter, and counseling. We also provide a lot of emotional support.

We have to partner with many different agencies to provide all these resources. I will refer clients to a shelter or legal support, but sometimes the shelter is full or there’s no attorney. So there’s no place to go. I sometimes have to be the translator at the attorney’s office because no one there speaks Chinese. I spend most of the time keeping track of the process.

CH: What is different about working with the Chinese American immigrant community?

DVCM: It’s different because Chinese culture values saving face. When talking about abuse, people will avoid using that word because they think it’s shameful. If there’s abuse happening in the family some will try to hide it and not let outsiders know.

I remember asking a client, “Have you thought about divorce?” She blamed everything on herself, thinking if she divorced it would be her fault for separating the family. So that requires some consideration. It might take a long time for them to decide to leave the abuser. So I have to be patient and give them space, because it can be tough for them to open up to a professional about something so personal.

CH: How do you help survivors heal?

DVCM: Developing a trusting relationship is really important since the clients put their trust in us as professionals. So whatever we say they take very seriously. I always tell them that it’s okay to feel sad. It’s okay to feel angry. It’s okay to think that it’s not fair.

I’m there to help them talk it out, and to help them identify different emotions. A lot of my clients have a hard time talking about emotions, but talking things through with them is a really good way to provide healing. Also sometimes they will talk about how religion has helped them to get out of the situation. If the clients want me to pray for them, I do offer prayers since Cameron House is a faith-based organization.

CH: How has your work impacted your clients?

DVCM: I’ve seen a lot of people start a new life after they get a divorce and leave their abuser. A new life without fear of going home or having to be constantly aware of the reactions of their abuser. Some of them have no connections here, no friends or family. That’s why in addition to case management we also have a women’s support group. We provide a space and time for them to talk about life and parenting, make new friends, and also do a lot of self-care activities. I’ve seen people stay in relationships where they were sad and hopeless. But then after they leave the abuser they have a chance to change, to develop a new life of their own. That’s why we spend a lot of time in our support group for survivors talking about parenting style and how not to spread their anger to their kid. Even though they have survived domestic violence, the trauma is still with them. And without prevention, they will just pass their trauma onto their kids, and the pattern will keep going on.

CH: How do you keep yourself from burning out?

DVCM: When I started this work I took it very seriously. Sometimes I told myself that I had to provide as much as I can to the clients because they’re going through domestic violence and deserve my best work. But that caused me to burnout. Sometimes I would text with clients after work or even in the middle of the night. If they called me while I was at home I would pick up the phone, and it was really stressful and gave me anxiety. I learned that setting boundaries is really important, and that after five o’clock, I have to leave everything at the office and just go home.

CH: Is there a stigma against speaking up about domestic violence?

DVCM: Yes, I see people avoiding the issue of domestic violence whether it’s happening to them or people around them. Many people don’t know how to deal with it, and they’re afraid to deal with it. They just keep everything inside and think they can deal with it in time. Sometimes they fear that by bringing up the issue, they will be seen as the one causing the problem.

Some people want to seem like everything is alright, so when domestic violence comes up they will say how it’s none of their business or it’s unrelated to them. There’s so much fear and so many people don’t want to talk about it.

CH: What about your work gives you purpose?

DVCM: I find a lot of meaning in helping people with the same background as me. I came to the United States as an immigrant and had to adjust myself to the American culture, so I know how challenging it is.

Immigrants who speak limited English might hesitate from asking for help since so many service providers can only speak English. So I really want to be a bridge. I want to let them know there’s always help here and that they can find someone who speaks the same language and who will be able to understand them. What they have been through in their life is really challenging, and that’s why it’s hard for them to talk about it. That’s what gives me a sense of purpose working with domestic violence survivors.

Sometimes when I talk with clients I learn their living situation is really bad. They’re living in a tiny, single room with five people. It’s really hard to imagine. When you see where they’re living, it makes sense why the violence is happening: there’s no way out. When the husband is back and he’s angry, everything would happen in that very small space. Once you’ve seen that, you don’t take what you have for granted.

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. Cameron House provides case management services for survivors of domestic violence in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please email info@cameronhouse.org, call (415) 781-0401, or visit us at 920 Sacramento Street, San Francisco and ask to speak to a domestic violence case manager.

Thank you for helping us exceed our fundraising goal of $100,000 which will be doubled by the Eustace-Kwan Family Foundation! Your support makes our work in the community possible, from making home visits to elders with cancer to teaching elementary school students how to make healthy afterschool snacks.

Special thanks goes to the donors who made this campaign a success, the Eustace-Kwan Family Foundation which provided the matching funds, and the volunteers who made personal phone calls to activate our community!

Our youth development and social service programs would not be possible without the support of our community. Please enjoy these videos that highlight a few of our many services:

As we transition from spring into summer, the Bay Area is blooming with colors! With the rainfall and a rush of cool weather back in mid-May, many roses are eager to show off their layers and pigments. They are not shy at all!

Excited to admire nature’s beauty, the Social Services Ministry brought our Women’s Support Group and Cancer Support Group to visit Filoli, located at Woodside, California. Filoli is a stunning estate that’s dreamlike. The history behind Filoli is also inspiring and meaningful to our clients.

Filoli was built between 1917 and 1929 by the Bourns, and was purchased in 1937 by Mr. and Mrs. William P. Roth for private use. In 1975, the Roths named the property “Filoli” and donated it to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, for future generations to enjoy and find inspiration in. “Filoli,” a name that combines the first two letters of fight, love, and live, represents the former owners’ belief in nature’s power and their philosophy of life. It encourages future generations to fight, love and live! This is the perfect message for our cancer and domestic violence survivors.

The entire property is now open to the public. The grounds consist of two parts: the family house, which served as the main living space, and the garden, where all recreational activities took place. Many antiques and the original furniture are still preserved in good condition. Acres of the garden are covered with fruit trees and bushes. A variety of flowers, including roses, daffodils, tulips, and wisteria bloom in different seasons.

The clients enjoyed the scenic garden and were amazed by the layout and decorations of the house. They constantly stopped to take pictures, capturing the home’s stylish decor. They took their time walking and relaxing in the garden as well. Surrounded by the warmth of the sun and a cool breeze, the clients chit-chatted with friends and simply cherished the precious time together. They focused on “here and now,” without worrying about the physical pain of cancer treatments and family violence. In that moment, there was peace and joy.

Every year, the June Outing is a special retreat for our Women’s Support Group and Cancer Support Group. It’s such an essential trip that gathers everyone together! We look forward to next year and sing “O to be in nature, the pigments and livelihood; O to share the most jubilant time ever!”