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Providing helping HANDS in Northeast Wisconsin

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NORTHEAST WISCONSIN – Kerry Yang said that when her son was diagnosed with autism at the age of three it changed the course of her family’s life.

Embarking on a new journey, they discovered that there were services out there to help them, but found it hard to navigate.

“The most difficult thing in navigating the medical industry is not having all the information I need to get through things or a sound idea of how processes work. While I have navigated it for ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) services for my son and have had countless calls with the county and insurance providers while getting help for my mother who has since passed, it is never easy to get through the red tape,” Yang said.

“As it is hard for me, it only gets harder when a caregiver does not speak English. A Hmong mother was recently referred to us by one of our board members who works in the Green Bay Public School system and even though I had experience with all these things in the past, it still took hours and days to get her help for her son who was recently diagnosed with autism.

“While speaking with my son’s CLTS (Children’s Long-Term Support) provider, she let me know that many organizations also lack Hmong speakers and this makes it harder for non-English speakers to get help. While my Hmong is not perfect, I know being an advocate is enough to try to help these caretakers who have nowhere to turn to.”

Since they were teens, Yang and her sisters, Linda and Betsy, wanted to open a Hmong center that would benefit the community.

“We see that there is a great need in our community to provide services and programs that have been dwindling, and we are passionate about helping those in need. We haven’t implemented this dream as we never had the funds to do so,” she recalled.

“While I started in my role as a community liaison and special events coordinator for the City of Green Bay and my sister became the executive assistant to the Brown County Executive, we realized that there were more funds out there that would potentially help us start.

“We wanted to focus on autism and disabilities because there is no other Hmong organization that solely focuses on them in Wisconsin. It is also deeply personal to us because I have a son with autism and my sister, Linda, has a son with a physical disability. With the help of people who have funded us, our dream has become a reality.”

Yang and her sisters recently signed a lease on a building owned by Neighborworks at 112 N. Adams St., Green Bay, and on Saturday, Feb. 8, will host a grand opening from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to mark the new facility for Hmong Autism Neurodiverse Disability Support, or HANDS.

“Upon our opening, we will have a few programs available. Firstly, we are open to being contacted if a caretaker’s child is diagnosed with autism or other disability. We can lend an ear, talk through issues, help refer to services, apply for Medicaid, and more. We will have a Community Closet and Pantry available for all who need it. Everyone can drop off gently used clothing for the Closet and also get more items if needed. Our pantry will include culturally-inclusive items not found at other pantries like rice,” Yang explained.

“‘Mom Time’ will operate on Friday evenings, allowing caretakers of children with autism and disabilities to come together and share a meal as their children play in a safe space. Oftentimes, these caretakers can become lonely as others may not understand their struggle, so Mom Time will allow them to gather with people in a similar journey.

“Our Dance Program will help pay for costumes, backdrops, and more for traditional, Hmong dancers, where the cost may be prohibitive to some for joining up.

“In the future, we would like to provide more cultural programming, including classes on reading and writing Hmong, sewing classes on Hmong storycloths called paj ntaub and a Hmong magazine. We would also like to offer mental health help in the future as it currently is a stigma in our community, where many do not talk about these issues.

“With each school year, we would also like to provide school supplies to families in need as many Hmong families do not participate in other back-to-school programs, perhaps due to cultural or language barriers. We want to make sure that our center is a welcoming place for Hmong people to attend and be able to call their own.

“While we target the Hmong community because they are reluctant to patronize other nonprofits, we are open to all families.”

The organization seeks to provide direct services to Brown County and Northeastern Wisconsin families who need a local place to connect; however, they long to be a resource for the entire state in terms of raising awareness and bringing “more acceptance in the Hmong community for autism and disabilities.”

Yang, autism, family life, Green Bay Public School, Applied Behavior Analysis, Children's Long-Term Support, HANDS, Hmong Autism Neurodiverse Disability Support

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