APICHA was founded in 1989 to provide a range of professional services to New York's Asian and Pacific Islander communities living with HIV/AIDS. At that time there was little or no information about Asians and Pacific Islanders with HIValong with Native Americans, this groups were all lumped in the category Other by the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC. APICHA approached these agencies and succeeded in having the diverse population of Asians and Pacific Islanders recognized as a separate group.

From the beginning, the program recognized the complex needs of this multilingual/multicultural community. APICHA's aim has always been to improve quality of life while helping its members, many of whom are native speaking immigrants, to access state and local aid. To this end, APICHA developed strong programs with trained case managersone at a time. Their strategic planning has resulted in a powerful platform of services and programs. Piece by piece, they added support services to the program, so that no APICHA client today is falls through cracks in the social service system.

APICHA's rich menu of services includes:

• Case management
• Medical referral
• Financial services
• Legal services
• Support groups
• Bilingual peer advocates
• Free acupuncture
• Asian food pantry

APICHA doesn't rest on its laurels but continues to move ahead, working across lines of race, class, sexuality, gender, age, HIV status, ethnicity, religion, and nation. According to its mission statement, APICHA must mobilize, educate, build community, advocate, and deliver critical social services.

APICHA has offices in neighborhoods where large numbers of Asians and Pacific Islanders with HIV live. They are located in Chelsea (Manhattan) and in Jackson Heights (Queens). Today the Queens Community Center is staffed for outreach and education as well as case management. APICHA has a volunteer force of 120, who provide the high-quality services and community trust for which APICHA is known.

For more information or to help APICHA expand its services, access the APICHA websitewww.apicha.orgor contact one of its centers: