Our Mission

The Asian Association of Utah (AAU) advocates equality for Utah’s Asian Americans and pacific Islanders in areas of immigration, education, and all other socioeconomic concerns of the community. The Association provides direct services to assist Asians and Pacific Islanders in community integration while retaining cultural identity. Services are funded from public and private sources and are provided by bilingual staff.

We are located at

1588 South Major Street (50 East between State St. and Main St.)

Salt Lake City, Utah 84115

(801) 467-6060

Email: aau@aau-slc.org

History of the Asian Association of Utah

The Asian Association of Utah (AAU) was founded in 1977 to advocate equality for Utah's Asian Americans in areas of immigration, education, employment, housing, social adjustment, and all other socioeconomic concerns of the community. In 1977, 3 staff members and a single funding source started the agency. Over the past 25 years, the agency has grown to have 25 staff members and over 50 contract workers.

While serving the communities of Cambodian, Chinese, Japanese, Laotian, Korean, Philippine, Thai and Vietnamese, the needs of the Pacific Islander people increased. In 1992 the board of directors invited Polynesian group to join AAU. Tongan and later Samoan organizations responded to join our organization.

AAU has been providing direct services to assist Asians and Pacific Islanders in community integration while retaining cultural identity. Services are funded from public and private sources and are provided by bilingual staff. Current programs serve approximately 1,200 clients/students a year. We are licensed by the State of Utah to provide counseling in Substance Abuse, mental health, as well as domestic violence.

Child Safety and Domestic Issues

The Asian Association of Utah has collaborated with many community groups in holding meetings to discuss child safety and domestic issues. Many Asian and Pacific Islander (API) members came to these meetings and expressed several common factors that were detrimental to API families:

Adjustment difficulties

Lack of language and cultural skills in accessing services

Increase in family conflicts

Decrease in economic resources

Loss of extended family network

Increase in stress

Lack of alternatives in problem-solving

Lack of information on child abuse laws that would affect parenting methods

Lack of education on domestic violence laws

In working with the Safe Home program of the Utah Attorney General Office, volunteer speakers were invited to the community meetings to discuss various domestic conflict situations. The following is several points to consider:

Instruct the children to stay out of parent's fights

Agree on a safe place to go if there is a serious fight

Teach them to call for help

Make sure they know their own address and phone number

Listen to your children

Do not talk too much or explain away the violence

Take time out when angry or frustrated

Talk to other about problems and seek solutions

Get professional help if necessary

Use and think in non-violent ways

The community education program in Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention was funded by Utah Department of Human Services. We would like to applaud many volunteers in organizing these community meetings.