SEAMAAC (South East Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition)

SEAMAAC has served the immigrant and refugee communities of Philadelphia for over 26 years. Through educational opportunities, health/social services, and community development programs, SEAMAAC serves constituencies from 18 distinct linguistic communities, and ensures these constituents are supported and their needs are met, as they navigate their life in a new country/city. As an immigrant and refugee-founded organization, with over 80% bi/multi-lingual staff, SEAMAAC is well versed in building partnerships and fostering community cohesion across lines of difference, bringing new and longtime residents together. This cohesion empowers and improves not only individuals but reinvigorates the community as a whole, empowering diverse and insular communities to come together and make decisions about the neighborhood.

SEAMAAC addresses basic needs such as food insecurity, health care, employment, legal and moral support for achieving citizenship, learning English, response to domestic violence, and more. Programs such as the Hip Hop Heritage after-school program, offer spaces to gather and engage in cultural/creative exchange and artistic co-creation. Overall, SEAMAAC’s work in advocating for their neighbors, creating easier pathways for health care/social services, and improving the community address the root causes of violence by tackling the feelings of isolation, disconnection, and desperation that are all too common in under-resourced and over-looked communities.