From October 18th-19th, 2023, SAAPRI’s Executive Director Shobhana Verma attended the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) VOICES 2023 Conference in Washington, D.C. VOICES is an annual conference that gathers healthcare leaders, key stakeholders, and advocates to explore…
Hate Crime Investigations and Remedies
On September 11th, 2023, Executive Director Shobhana Verma attended a Cook County United Against Hate panel in celebration of Racial Equity Week. SAAPRI and CASL representatives were able to hear from the Cook County State Attorney’s Office, Cook Country Sheriff’s…
Midwest Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Mental Health Forum
On August 30th, 2023, SAAPRI and other AAPI-led organizations co-hosted a Midwest Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Mental Health Forum intended to paint a broad picture of where AAPIs’ mental wellness landed at the post-COVID era and share efforts targeting…
Asian American Heritage Month Reception
On May 9th, 2023, SAAPRI team members attended an Asian American Heritage Month Reception in Springfield, IL hosted by various Asian American State Representatives. Special guests included IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra, IEPA Director John Kim, and IDHS Secretary Grace…
PAVE-IL State Legislature Asian American Caucus
On January 25th, 2023, the Pan-Asian Voter Empowerment (PAVE) Coalition (a coalition of 16 Asian American advocacy and direct service organizations in the Chicagoland area) met with the IL State Legislature’s nine-member Asian American Caucus. We have an exciting year…
2022 Impact Report – Reflecting on 2022 and Looking to 2023
2022 Midterm Election Poll Watching
On Tuesday, November 8th, 2022, SAAPRI’s team voted and poll watched at various Chicago locations. In collaboration with our partner organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago (AAAJ-C), we made sure South Asian American voters had the language support and resources we…
UIC AARCC Lunchbox: Ms. Marvel
On October 11th, 2022, SAAPRI and the UIC Asian American Resource and Cultural Center, the UIC Arab American Cultural Center, and the UIC Women’s Leadership and Resource Center hosted a discussion Disney+’s limited series Ms. Marvel, which starred a South…
LGC Class of 2022 Supper Club
On September 1st, 2022, the LGC Class of 2022 Supper Club met to discuss how to take action and tackle issues affecting Chicago’s Asian population, among the fastest-growing racial demographics in the country. The panel included Shobhana Verma, SAAPRI’s Executive…
Statement on hate crime in Plano
On August 25th, 2022, Plano police detectives arrested Esmeralda Upton of Plano after video was shared that shows her yelling racial slurs, etc. to a group of women the day prior. Go back to India. You curry <expletive> people are ruining…