Supporting Deportees through our
Care Package Program
“The care package program is an important program. Deportations separate people from their families and from their homes. The care packages brings a them a piece of home; it's a connection that reminds people who have been deported that people here in the states are thinking of them, and continuously wanting to support them.”
- Nate Tan, co-director of APSC
Meet Our Recipients
Benjamin “Benji” Obsuna
Benji is a ROOTS alumni from 2015. After serving 26 years in prison from the age of 16, Benji was sent to ICE detention where he was held for several months before being deported to the Philippines. After settling in the Philippines, Benji got married and has four children. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and his daughter being sick, Benji was out of work for a year.
Impact
Launched in 2021, our pilot program targeted four countries that saw the most Asian and Pacific Islanders being deported to: Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, and China. With a number of individuals from APSC’s ROOTS program being deported and other community members being deported, we understood the growing need for a care package program.
150+ Work Hours
Nine individuals
Four Countries
Collaborations
Asian Prisoner Support Committee is a proud beneficiary of The Collective Philanthropy Project (CPP). CPP is an initiative for Vietnamese students and community organizations to collaborate while working towards one charitable cause. The idea was to create momentum for a collective effort under one philanthropic campaign. CPP assists North American Vietnamese nonprofit/philanthropic organizations to better achieve their mission through collective and collaborative partnership with Union of North American Vietnamese Student Association (UNAVSA) and its constituent groups.
This year, CPP efforts will support APSC in increasing direct support to incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, and deported Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community members. This initiative includes: distributing care packages to formerly incarcerated and deported members, providing emergency aid, support with access to legal services, providing commissary donations, book mailings to incarcerated members, and to develop formerly incarcerated leadership through paid internships with APSC.
To learn more about about CPP, please visit: https://unavsa.org/cpp/
Nate Tan
Co-Director of APSC
