Our name is Lao Family Community Development because newly arrived refugees from Laos founded us, some 40+ years ago—however, “Our Community” has grown much, much larger than any one ethnic group.

While we still work with and are active in the Lao, Mien, and Hmong communities—we have more Vietnamese and Spanish speakers on staff than any other non-English language. Our staff speaks 35+ languages and serves clients from around the globe—well over 40 countries. Our services are open to anyone who needs them, including people born and raised in the US.

Even though our leadership, staff, and clients are incredibly diverse, the people we serve share specific challenges in common, which is why they come to us. Some of these challenges include:

• Poverty and High Unemployment
• Housing Insecurity and Homelessness
• Limited-English proficiency
• Food Insecurity
• Lack of Job Experience and Marketable Job Skills
• Live in Low-Income, High-Crime Neighborhoods
• Lack of Financial Literacy, Credit and Savings
• Health and Mental Health issues
• Lack of Personal Transportation
• Domestic Violence
• Lack of Access to Affordable Childcare
• Justice-Involved History

Even with all these barriers in their path, we see resilience and determination that, with assistance, ultimately can lead to real and tangible successes.

We’ve put together some pages to help you get to know our community, including the challenges they face and the successes they’ve accomplished. We also have included a blog and our newsletters so you can keep up to date about what’s going on here, and elsewhere in our community. We hope you enjoy.