Hmong American Friendship Association receives $30,000 grant to help young people

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- May has been designated as AAPI Heritage Month, that stands for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. On Friday, May 12, CBS 58 visited one organization that'd dedicated to that sometimes-underserved group. 

"We assist with all of the Southeast Asian community here in Milwaukee but we are open to the public," said Amoun Sayaovong, Hmong American Friendship Association. 

Amoun Sayaovong is with the Hmong American Friendship Association and that group just received a $30,000 grant to help young people. 

They plan to use that money to help young people to provide internet access for their education. 

One area of focus for the group is making sure Asian-American young people understand the culture they came from. 

"Even in the Hmong community, even though we're an insular community, we tend to continue to keep the culture alive, a lot of the culture is being lost. Just because the kids are like you say assimilating into American culture," said Sayaovong. 

The friendship association also runs a food pantry, and Sayaovong tells us pantry use has increased dramatically since the COVID pandemic.