Our good friends at SIPA (Search to Involve Pilipino Americans) are conducting a Community Needs Survey to better understand their community’s needs around mental health and wellness, and financial literacy. Data from the survey will improve their strategies to make positive and sustainable changes in the lives of the community members in Historic Filipinotown. 

SIPA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving Historic Filipinotown and other neighborhoods throughout Greater Los Angeles County. Founded in 1972, SIPA’s mission is to enhance the quality of life in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown and for Pilipino Americans throughout Los Angeles County.

SIPA provides a wide range of health and human services and community economic development programs aimed at improving economic self-sufficiency, educational attainment, cultural awareness and civic engagement. Youth and family services (such as counseling and case management, afterschool programs, etc.) are the core of SIPA’s programs, but in the 1990’s housing crisis, small business and consumer assistance, civic engagement and advocacy were added to more comprehensively address the needs of their clients. SIPA provides services in English, Tagalog (Filipino), and Spanish.

Nico is partnering with SIPA on the financial literacy component of the community survey.  Contributing to a strong local economy is one of Nico’s five impact areas, and collecting community feedback around financial literacy needs helps inform how both Nico and SIPA can respond. The survey asks questions about respondent’s level of interest in learning about household budget tools, investment strategies, starting a business, preferred method of learning (online and/or in-person), and if they would consider signing up for a new debit card if using that card helped support locally owned businesses and community organizations in your neighborhood. Finally, in addition to the financial literacy questions, SIPA’s survey asks about community livelihood, COVID-19, mental health, basic needs, and will be used to better respond to serve the community. 

If you live in or around the HiFi neighborhood, we hope you can take a few minutes to fill out the survey and help SIPA get a better understanding of what the community needs and wants. 

ENGLISH: http://bit.ly/sipacns

SPANISH: http://bit.ly/sipacnsesp

For more information or questions, connect with Jamie Prudencio at jamie@sipacares.org.