LIST OF SERVICES

Among the wide range of services that AAN offers its clients, we provide a range of linguistically and culturally competent psychosocial support services to complement the objective of seamless integration of Africans into mainstream American society. An integral part of that social integration is through promoting active civic engagement on the part of newly arrived Africans.

Our staff and volunteers have, over the many iterations of the agency’s history, helped more than 5,000 immigrants and refugees with jobs and referral services. We have filled out more than 5,000 forms and applications that directly resulted in an adjustment of legal residency status, work permit authorization, or recouping funds for clients who have been unjustly charged by unscrupulous vendors. In addition the staff and volunteers of AAN have clocked more than 1,000 hours of translation, crisis intervention, and counseling assistance predominantly in immigration adjustment issues.

Legal Services Program

As is evidenced by the number of undocumented immigrants from other ethnic and racial groups; Africans also have a significant number of immigrants that are either undocumented or who, for a number of complex reasons, have legal statuses that place them at-risk for forceful deportation actions. AAN offers legal services that are constructed towards remediating the legal residency status of African immigrants who are currently residing under unstable legal statuses. AAN is the only African Immigrant member of the city-wide San Francisco Immigrant Legal Education Network, (SFILEN) which is an unprecedented consortium of thirteen legal services providers.

1. •Paralegal, under the supervision of SFILEN attorney Francisco Ugarte.       
   

2. •Assisting clients with affected by raids,
   

3. •Intervention in cases of deportations, 
   

4. •Promotion of residential stays through adjustment of status, 
   

5. •Assistance with overall naturalization process, 
   

6. •Assistance with asylum applications, 
   

7. •Visa processing,  and 
   

8. •Assistance and advice with work authorization documents.
   

9. •Haitian Temporary Protected Status Program (TPS)
   

Comprehensive Culturally Competent Case Management

Psychosocial case management becomes the proverbial glue that holds human services agencies together.  Through it, comprehensive case conferencing is possible that enables all parties concerned with a client/customer's given needs, are present at the decision table.  This process is holistic in that it addresses the whole person vs. adhering to the typical western tendency to compartmentalize people and their needs. 

It further ensures that the lingua franca that is indigenous to the client/customer is forefront by the most important participant; that being, the clients/customers themselves.

1. •Psycho-social case management. 
   

2. •Culturally competent counseling in clients’ languages. 
   

Employment & Training Referrals

Unlike many of the historical and present newly arrived immigrants, the Africans possess the highest levels of education, with an average bachelor's degree as statically standard.  While this is the most highly educated immigrant population in the history of American immigrants, they remain last relative to successful attainment of gainful employment. Apart from language and cultural barriers, the pernicious culture of embedded racism in America remains one of the primary obstacles for this population. 

Our Employment & Training referrals assist newly arrived Africans in better understanding the complexities of American culture as well as providing an opportunity for obtaining competitive soft and hard market skills so that they too might access the American Dream through making a living off of the market-based economy. Their overall ability to obtain gainful employment is exasperated by the ubiquitous global recession that is hitting the immigrant populations especially hard given the traditional Service Sector niches that they tend to occupy within the larger economy in America.  

We provide referrals regarding the following:

1. •Employment assistance 
   

2. •Resume building, 
   

3. •Job search assistance,
   

4. •Job skills training, job retention. 
   

Advocacy, and Policy Change Program

AAN is a member of the SF Bay Coalition for Immigration Reform, advocating for a change in our current immigration system. We collaborate with a multi-ethnic group of organizations in the Bay Area who are organizing protests, teach-ins, and campaigns to educate the public on current legislation as we mobilize to envision practical solutions to address concerns in our immigrant communities.

Please see  http://www.youtube.com/user/SFBayCIR for more info.

Upcoming Health Education Program

AAN's future Health Advocacy and Policy Change program will aim to assist newly-arrived Africans in transitioning into ease of access to traditional western medical services.  There are a number of cultural barriers that make this process exceptionally complex.  Clearly from a public health and disease prevention perspective, it is essential that Africans learn how to navigate America's complex medical services maze. 

Conversely, those who are healthcare providers must be made to understand the fundamental cultural and language barriers that otherwise interfere with healthy choices and lifestyles. AAN's use of Cultural Brokering serves as an essential component to access to appropriate medical care for many clients, some of whom may have never been treated by a traditional western provider.

1. •Health education 
   

2. •Expanding the California Endowment community outreach and surveys.
   

3. •Networking with community leaders 
   

4. •Spreading information on immigration policy and programs, 
   

5. •Connecting businesses, 
   

6. •Promoting cultural events.
   

7. •Community development/building
   

8. •Organizing & public policy advocacy
   

Affordable Housing Referrals

1. •San Francisco is ranked as one of the most expensive cities in the entire country.  Many residents who possess economy based jobs that pay far above the traditionally defined living wage find acquisition of affordable housing to be a near impossible task.  For recently arrived African immigrants this situation is exasperated by low wage earning jobs, language barriers, and a chronic lack of a basic understanding of their constitutionally protected rights as housing consumers. AAN works in a collaborative manner with other housing providers to both identify affordable housing opportunities and to assist its clients/customers in learning how to navigate the housing resource system.  Moreover, there are subgroups within the African immigrant populations that need additional specialized assistance like African seniors, those with disabilities, those who subsist on entitlement grants, and those who are homeless.
   

2. •Housing guidance.
   

3. •Assistance in finding & maintaining affordable housing.
   

Social Integration through English Skills Acquisition

1. •The hallmark of a successful immigrant and/or refugee within the context of American culture is measured by their ability to earn a living off of the economy. 
   

2. •Additionally, AAN assists our clients/customers in strengthening their social enculturation skills and capacities, all of which assist in successfully integrating into America’s complex mainstream culture. While the AAN strongly encourages its clients to maintain their indigenous language skills, it concurrently encourages the acquisition of English language skills.  This is based on the reality that English is the national language of America and on our interpretation of many of the different immigration public policy reform initiatives developing locally, on a state-wide and national basis.  Immigrants who possess a level of English language proficiency will enjoy a significant economic and social advantage in becoming fully participating, civically engaged citizens.  The AAN offers comprehensive, life skills based ESL services that will contribute to better overall social integration for its clients/customers.
   

ESL

1. •Computer skills training
   

2. •Matching tutors with clients in building their English and computer skills for naturalization and employment needs.
   

3. •Referrals to ESL tutoring with UC Berkeley student program