Filipino Advocates for Justice

Since 1973, Filipino Advocates for Justice has been a champion for immigrant and civil rights by providing direct services, developing leaders, and organizing and advocating on issues important to the Filipino community as a historically underserved ethnic minority. We serve at-risk middle and high school-age youth, low-wage workers vulnerable to exploitation, and the newly arrived immigrants and undocumented, by helping them navigate the challenges of life in the U.S.

For nearly 50 years, FAJ has nurtured leadership among Filipino and other youth to enhance their civic capacity and help them organize their communities for meaningful change. Today, FAJ serves the more than 130,000 Filipinos who call the East Bay Area home through its offices in Oakland’s Chinatown and Union City. 

As we emerge from this tumultuous pandemic era, FAJ has set a bold horizon statement to guide our work: As a visible anchor for thriving Filipino communities, FAJ centers transformative change (individual and collective) by championing working-class and cross-racial solidarity, intergenerational-wellness and healing, and freedom and self-determination for all of our BIPOC communities.  

The impacts of the pandemic and increased incidents of anti-Asian violence have greatly affected the mental health of our community members. From our youth to our elders, there has been an unprecedented need for support to address stress, anxiety, depression, and other feelings of uncertainty we are coping with and the trauma we are holding.  

FAJ aims to provide additional mental health services to our youth and elder members to equip ourselves with tools to build resilience that match today’s demands. Through the various support groups FAJ holds, we aim to listen to, educate and empower our members to help raise awareness of this growing mental health crisis and the need to address our trauma, particularly racial trauma in order to heal and find new ways to move forward. Our healing and wellness spaces will take on the stigma and shame of asking for mental health help as Filipinos, a delicate topic we often don’t talk about in our families. Additionally, we plan to host free events such as yoga classes, acupuncture, Zumba, and others for members to meet each other and re-connect as we navigate post-pandemic life.

POPULATIONS SERVED

Filipino