Celebrating 50 Years: Venerable Heanh Sroy's Journey from Refugee to Citizen

"While I'm always looking through everything through the domestic violence lens, Dean and the staff are looking at language access, immigration, eviction prevention—and so often all or many of those factors fit together for one survivor and their family."

This is the work of API Legal Outreach.

VENERABLE SROY'S STORY

After enduring the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime and losing his spouse and two children, Venerable Heanh Sroy became a Buddhist monk dedicated to service. In 2019, speaking only Khmer and accompanied by his caseworker from Asian Health Services, he reached out to APILO for help with his green card application.

Senior Staff Attorney Nancy Wong worked with him through refugee-based adjustment of status, securing his green card by January 2020. Three years later, Attorney Wong helped him navigate naturalization, including a disability waiver for PTSD from wartime trauma.

On April 1, 2025—just before Cambodian New Year—Venerable Sroy became a U.S. citizen, surrounded by his community at Oakland's Cambodian Buddhist Church where he serves as ranking abbot.

50 YEARS OF SERVICE

When APILO was founded in 1975 in the wake of Japanese American internment, the API community was invisible. There were no community-based organizations providing legal services for folks who couldn't afford to go downtown. Students and a whole generation began questioning why basic services weren't being provided to the API community.

Different waves of immigration influenced our growth—from primarily Chinese-American and Japanese-American communities to the diverse populations we serve today with multilingual, multicultural services.

"APILO and their staff and leadership has been a pivotal partner and leader in San Francisco as far as advancing immigrant rights, securing due process and protecting our sanctuary city values." — Community Partner

"What I really appreciate about APILO is they're not about self-promotion. They're not about getting recognition. They're about getting the work done." — Community Partner

OUR WORK TODAY

Elder abuse prevention training and services
Immigration legal services in multiple languages
Tenant rights and eviction prevention
Youth empowerment and rights education
Language access advocacy
Sanctuary city protection

"I think it's essential that we recognize the API Legal Outreach staff and volunteers that do the work, whether you've seen them or they're hidden behind the scenes. The reason why the organization is still around and still providing vital services is because of that hard work and dedication." — Dean Ito Taylor, Executive Director

WHY NOW MATTERS MORE THAN EVER

The communities we serve are under attack. The need for our services far outstrips our capacity. Your tax-deductible contribution helps us meet this moment and increase our ability to serve and protect immigrant populations.

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LEARN MORE & SUPPORT OUR WORK

🌐 Website: www.apilegaloutreach.org
💚 Donate: https://apilo.donorsupport.co/page/FU...
📖 Read About Our 50th Anniversary Gala: https://www.apilegaloutreach.org/news...

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