Saint Anselm's Cross-Cultural Community Center Records, 1986-2002

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Summary

Title:
Saint Anselm's Cross-Cultural Community Center records
Dates:
1986-2002
Abstract:
This collection is comprised of ephemera, correspondence, reports, and newspaper clippings that document the history of Saint Anselm's Cross-Cultural Community Center, located in Garden Grove, California. St. Anselm's provides services to Amerasians and other Southeast Asian American communities in Orange County. The materials document the different types of services provided to Amerasians, including employment, education, and medical care. Materials related to organizations that work with St. Anselm's are also included.
Extent:
1 Linear Feet (1 box and 1 oversized folder)
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Saint Anselm's Cross-Cultural Community Center records. MS-SEA027. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection is comprised of ephemera, correspondence, reports, and newspaper clippings that document the history of Saint Anselm's Cross-Cultural Community Center, located in Garden Grove, California. St. Anselm's provides services to Amerasians and other Southeast Asian American communities in Orange County. The materials document the different types of services provided to Amerasians, including employment, education, and medical care. Materials related to organizations that work with St. Anselm's are also included.

Biographical / historical:

Saint Anselm's Cross-Cultural Community Center, located in Garden Grove, California, was created in 1976 as St. Anselm's Immigrant and Refugee Community Center. The organization was formed to provide English classes and other services to Vietnamese refugees who arrived at Camp Pendleton. The services include assistance with housing, legal problems, physical and mental health, disabilities, employment, family problems, and community education. Other services include mentoring, health education and advocacy, women's issues, services for the elderly, and searches for lost or estranged fathers. The organization serves as an open door for information and assistance. St. Anselm's hosts fundraising dinners, art exhibits, and silent auctions to generate funds to keep their program going.

St. Anselm's was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1980 and expanded its programs to accommodate new waves of Southeast Asian refugees, boat people, political prisoners from Vietnam, and Amerasians. St. Anselm's changed its name in 1993 to St. Anselm's Cross-Cultural Community Center to reflect the broadening of its services to a more diverse clientele and the addition of new services including citizenship classes.

The Amerasian program at St. Anselm's was one of sixty programs established by the 1987 American Homecoming Act to provide services for children who were born to American fathers and Vietnamese mothers during the Vietnam War. The Amerasians faced many challenges growing up, including being fatherless in a patrilineal society and being victims of cultural shame and extreme social harassment. Most were denied education and a sense of identity and self-esteem. St. Anselm's Amerasian program was one of the largest programs with a staff of seven to serve about 2, 000 Amerasians. The program offered by St. Anselm's attempts to reduce these deficits with a holistic approach to services.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Peter Daniels, Amerasian Coordinator for Saint Anselm's Cross-Cultural Community Center, 2003.
Processing information:

Processed by Julia Stringfellow, 2005. Processing was supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged topically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Processed by Julia Stringfellow; machine-readable finding aid created by Audrey Pearson
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2022-07-15 17:14:18 UTC .

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. Access to files covered by California personnel records legislation is restricted for 50 years from the latest date of the materials in those files. Restrictions are noted at the file level.

Terms of access:

Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Southeast Asian Archive Librarian.

Preferred citation:

Saint Anselm's Cross-Cultural Community Center records. MS-SEA027. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Location of this collection:
Southeast Asian Archive
The UCI Libraries, P.O. Box 19557
Irvine, CA 92623-9557, US
Contact:
(949) 824-3947
spcoll@uci.libanswers.com
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