The Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN, Norman grantee 1999–2004) was created in 1993 to organize low-income Asian immigrant and refugee communities in the San Francisco Bay Area who were facing some of the most hazardous environmental conditions in the country. In Richmond, CA, nearly 10,000 Laotian refugees lived surrounded by more than 350 industrial facilities, including the sprawling Chevron oil refinery. When a massive Chevron fire broke out in 1999, sending thousands to hospitals, many Laotian community members received no warnings in a language they could understand and had no idea how to keep their families safe.

APEN’s Laotian Organizing Project — led primarily by young Laotian women trained through APEN’s youth organizing program — launched a campaign for a county-wide multilingual emergency warning system. After years of organizing, testimony, and pressure on county officials, the system went live in 2004 and was able to alert residents to chemical emergencies in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Lao. It was the first of its kind in the country and became a national model. APEN remains active today and organizes for housing justice and a just transition from fossil fuels. They recently played a key role in the Polluters Pay campaign with fellow Norman grantee Communities for a Better Environment, winning a landmark $550 million settlement from Chevron in 2024 for decades of pollution.

Media:

• APEN video: Introduction to APEN