South-East Asia Center

SOUTH-EAST ASIA CENTER OFFERS ESSENTIAL SOCIAL SERVICES AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TARGETING LOW-INCOME LIMITED-ENGLISH SPEAKING IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA CENTER ("SEAC") OFFERS EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, SENIOR PROGRAMS AND SOCIAL SERVICE PROGRAMS FOR LOW INCOME INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES. IN ADDITION, SEAC OFFERS THE ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE CLASSES. MAJORITY OF SEACS CLIENTS ARE CULTURALLY DIVERSE IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES IN CHICAGO AND COOK COUNTY.1) THE CHILD CARE PROGRAMS SERVICE FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN FROM 6 WEEKS OLD TO 13 YEARS OLD. FOR CHILDREN AGED 6 WEEKS TO PRE-SCHOOL, SEAC OPERATES CLASSROOMS FULL-TIME M-F. FOR SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN, SEAC OPERATES AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM WITH FULL DAYS ON SCHOOL HOLIDAYS AS WELL AS IN THE SUMMER MONTHS. THE PROGRAMS ARE CLOSED FOR THE SEVEN HOLIDAYS. SEACS UNIQUE CURRICULUM IS BASED ON THE ORGANIZATIONS MISSION TO BUILD BRIDGES BETWEEN CULTURES. SEAC OPERATES FOUR SITES: 1124-1138 W. AINSLIE, 5120 N. BROADWAY, 4901-4915 N. BROADWAY AND 1112 W. FOSTER IN CHICAGO. ALL ARE LICENSED BY THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES. SEAC OPERATES PRE-SCHOOL FOR ALL AT-RISK CHILDREN FUNDED BY THE CHICAGO DEPARTMENT FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES AND THE ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION. THE LOW-INCOME FAMILIES ARE SUBSIDIZED BY CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES AND THE ILLINOIS ACTION FOR CHILDREN. MEALS AND SNACKS ARE FUNDED BY THE CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM (CACFP) PROVIDED BY THE FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE (FNS) OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA).2) SEAC OFFERS ADULT DAY SERVICES (ADS), IN-HOME CARE (INH) AND CONGREGATE DINING PROGRAMS TO SENIORS. SEAC PICKS UP ADS PARTICIPANTS IN THE MORNING AND RETURNS THEM TO THEIR HOMES IN THE LATE AFTERNOON. ADS AND INH ARE FUNDED AND MONITORED BY THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF AGING, COMMUNITY CARE PROGRAM. A VAN FOR TRANSPORTING ADS PARTICIPANTS ARE SUPPLIED BY THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. THE CONGREGATE DINING LUNCH PROGRAM (M-F) IS FUNDED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES. MEALS AND SNACKS ARE FUNDED THROUGH CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM (CACFP), ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF AGING. IN FY2024, SEAC SERVED 18,306 HOT LUNCHES TO SENIORS.3) SEAC ADMINISTERS THE FEDERALLY FUNDED LOW-INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANT PROGRAM (LIHEAP) UNDER THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (CEDA) FUNDED THROUGH ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS. LIHEAP SERVES LOW INCOME CLIENTS OF MANY ETHNICITIES LIVING IN COOK COUNTY. SINCE BEGINNING TO ADMINISTER LIHEAP IN 1984, SEAC HAS BEEN ONE OF THE OLDEST PROVIDERS OF THIS ESSENTIAL SERVICE IN CHICAGO. FOLLOWING THE COVID PANDEMIC OUTBREAK IN 2019, THE APPLICATIONS WERE BOTH PROCESSED IN-PERSON AND ON-LINE.4)SEAC PARTNERED WITH ILLINOIS COALITION FOR IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE RIGHTS (ICIRR) TO HELP LOW-INCOME IMMIGRANT FAMILIES AND OTHER ENGLISH-LIMITED SPEAKING PERSONS ACCESS TO PUBLIC BENEFITS SUCH AS SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANT PROGRAM(SNAP) AND IMMIGRANT FAMILY RESOURCE PROGRAM (IFRP). SEAC IS STAFFED WITH MULTI-LINGUAL CASE WORKERS WHO COULD CONNECT AND HELP THE LIMITED OR NON-ENLIGH SPEAKING IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES.5) SEACS LITERACY PROGRAM, ESL IS FUNDED BY ILLINOIS SECRETARY OF STATE. SEAC HELPED LEARNERS FROM OVER 36 COUNTRIES WHO SPEAK OVER 30 LNGUAGES. IN FY2024, SEAC TAUGHT 126 ESL LEARNERS WITH THE HELP OF CROSS-CULTURALLY-ORIENTED TUTORS.6) SEAC STAFF SPEAK OVER 12 LANGUAGES, REFLECTIVE OF THE COMMUNITY IT SERVES. ESL, CHLDCARE, AND ADULT PROGRAMS AT SEAC ALL WORK TOWARDS OUR MISSION TO BUILD BRIDGES OF UNDERSTANDING AND COOPERATION AMONGST DIVERSE POPULATIONS.