Basic Principles
Commitment and support to fight for nothing less than FULL EQUITY for Filipino WWII Veterans
Lobby Congressional Leaders on both House and Senate to sign on and vote for the the Filipino Veterans Equity Act
Work with students on a local and national level to teach and meet on the issue of Full Equity
Raise funds to launch all Full Equity Campaigns, including the Brown Ribbon Campaign
Current Situation
Since the early 1990's a large influx of Filipino World War II immigrants naturalized and moved to the United States due to the 1990 Immigration and Nationality Act which granted them U.S Citizenship. Upon arriving to the United States, Filipino Veterans did not know that instead of military benefits, the United States government would hand them Supplemental Security Income (SSI) which is in other words, welfare. In San Francisco Bay Area, about 2,000 Filipino Veterans live by SSI ranging from $250 to $630 Since this is their only income, many of them live in Single Room Occupancy (SRO) in the city and residential hotels with 4-5 of them cramped up in one room. Most of their SSI check goes to housing and rent, leaving the Veterans with barely anything forcing them to make ends meet.