Advocacy
Policy Blueprint
In 2012, EPIC organized a convening in Washington, D.C. that brought together 25 leaders from Native Hawaiian, Chamorro, Samoan, Tongan, Marshallese, and Fijian communities, working across the country from Washington, California, Utah, and Arkansas. The convening resulted in a Policy Blueprint that expresses a common set of beliefs, positions, and recommendations that will represent the foundation of a national advocacy effort. It is from within this framework that EPIC takes action to tackle the issues that impact our people.
EPIC also helped to create NAPAWF’s Visibility, Voice, Vision: Asian American and Pacific Islander Reproductive Justice Agenda and the NCAPA 2020 Policy Platform.
Education
With rates of formal education being so closely linked to economic disparities and poverty, education is a top priority. Only 23.8% of NHPIs have attained a Bachelor’s Degree or higher compared to 36.9% of the general population, with the gap only widening for graduate level qualifications (US Census Bureau, 2019). EPIC advocates for NHPIs to be recognized as an underserved community in higher education so that institutions can increase their outreach and equity initiatives accordingly. We promote disaggregated data collection, NHPI-driven analysis and reporting while pushing for cultural inclusion in school districts where NHPI populations reside.
Health
The health and wellbeing of NHPIs is determined by a number of factors such as economic stability, access to medical care and social and community context. In 2019, 14.8% of NHPIs were living at the poverty level compared to 9.0% of whites while 9.1% of NHPIs are uninsured compared to 6.3% of whites (US Census Bureau). These systemic barriers and disparities directly impact our communities where symptoms and illnesses (both physical and mental) are exacerbated due to lack of or delayed treatment. Combined with language and cultural barriers, it’s important for EPIC to always support legislation and efforts that prevent discrimination, increase access to quality healthcare and uplifts reproductive justice.
Immigration
Policymakers must recognize that the NHPI community encompasses an extremely diverse and complicated set of relationships between the U.S. government and NHPI homelands. This impacts rights and access to resources in a number of different ways depending on where an individual is born and acts to prevent successful integration in the U.S. While 14% of NHPIs are foreign-born, the rate varies widely between Pacific Islander groups i.e 65% of Fijians, 35% of Tongans, and 10% of Samoans. EPIC seeks to develop and create a clear and simple path to citizenship while ensuring essential services are available for all NHPIs, regardless of immigration status. This includes adequate legal counsel in deportation proceedings and translation and interpretation assistance.
Civic Engagement
EPIC treats civic engagement as a critical advocacy tool for building political power in, with, and for the NHPI community. It takes many different forms from traditional voter registration, get out the vote efforts, lobby days, pipelines to political appointments, and projects driven by young NHPI leaders.
If you’d like to be a part of any of our efforts, please complete our Volunteer Intake Form.