Raleigh, NC - BPSOS-Raleigh has been recently awarded a $48,000 grant from the City of Raleigh. The grant will go toward the Families Attaining Life-long Independence through Mutual Assistance (FALIMA) project, which will begin in July 2004 to offer family strengthening services to 30 low and moderate income Amerasian families in Raleigh, NC.

Amerasians are children of U.S. servicemen and Vietnamese women. Many were abandoned by their fathers after the war ended in April 1975. In Vietnam, these children of Americans were treated as outcasts by society; the Communist regime viewed them as children of the enemy. As a result, they suffer past trauma and present challenges including absence of role models and lack of community support.

The FALIMA project was selected among 20 proposals submitted to the City of Raleigh. Its main goals are outreach and education; referral and mentoring; and capacity building. The project will inform couples and families about family wellness skills, pair families with a mentoring family that serves as a role model and provides guidance, and train local family wellness educators and instructors.

The Community Development Block Grant program is funded each year by the City of Raleigh through the Division of Community Assistance. BPSOS-Raleigh received the grant under the Community Revitalization category with the purpose of strengthening neighborhoods and rehabilitate homes of low to moderate income citizens. Their website is www.dca.commerce.state.nc.us [1].