County congregation readies for Hmong influx

Sy Moua is readying his congregation for the newest members to his church -- the Hmong Christian and Missionary Alliance in Stockton. To help in the process, the congregation has collected and donated food, clothing and some furniture.

But beyond the physical, Moua, who is senior pastor of the Missionary Alliance of Stockton, knows that the newest members will have a hard time fitting into the new society.

During the next few months, more than 420 Hmong are expected to arrive in San Joaquin County. They're all part of an agreement dating to the Vietnam War that will bring about 5,000 Hmong to California who helped the United States government in its effort to stop communism from spreading throughout Southeast Asia, Moua said.

Nationwide, there are about 15,000 Hmong immigrants relocating to the United States starting this month in the latest wave of immigrants under a federal government-sponsored program, said Ping Lo, executive director of Lao Family Community, a Stockton-based organization that will help the immigrants assimilate into the county.

With the latest round of immigrants, California will have more than 15,000 Hmong immigrants living in the Central Valley, Lo said.

They settled in the Central Valley because in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, many of them were farmers or hunters, he said.

And while they didn't want to leave Thailand or they stayed behind thinking one day that Laos would become a democracy, Lo said the Thai government approached the U.S. government and worked out an agreement to relocate them to the United States.

Most of the immigrants to San Joaquin County will end up living in North Stockton, around Hammer Lane, Lo said.

That's because agencies and community leaders had determined that the south side of Stockton was too dangerous for the immigrants, he said.

For Moua, who himself is an immigrant from Laos, said most of the incoming immigrants are former Hmong who helped the CIA during the Vietnam War. After the United States left in 1975, many Hmong were left behind in an unsafe situation.

"If you worked with the CIA, it was difficult," he said. That's why many of the families coming in are grandfathers with wives, children and grandchildren, Moua said.

Although his church will be accepting 19 Hmong, or about five families, all told more than 420 are expected to settle down in San Joaquin County between this month and February, he said.

And they're expected to be stabilized and acclimated to their new surroundings within two to three months, said Joe Chelli, the county's Human Services director.

During their first 90 days in the county, Chelli said the immigrants will be living with sponsor families in the county.

After the 90 days they'll be eligible for some type of financial assistance, he said.

But Chelli said he's hopeful that instead of state or county financial relief, community-based organizations such as the Hmong Christian Alliance will step up to make that transition.

"Ideally, they'll have jobs and housing," he said.

But getting jobs and housing is one part of the equation for the new immigrants, Chelli said. There's also education, with many of the adults required to learn English almost immediately, he said.

Moua said all the immigrants will have two to three years to learn English. But the difficulty is that besides English, Hmong have two dialects.

So, the difficulty in learning English will be for the second- and third-generation adults.

"The young people will be in school several hours a day, they'll learn the language."

So, the reality is that for these new immigrants, the resettlement will be more challenging, said Ruth Moua, a former CalWORKS counselor.

Ruth Moua, no relationship to Sy Moua, understands the difficulties that lie ahead for the newer immigrants.

The 31-year-old said the rules on welfare have changed and budget cuts have sliced through state programs, she said.

Moua, who emigrated from Laos 23 years ago, knows about cuts to state programs -- she recently lost her job as a CalWORKS counselor because of budget cuts.

"They're going to have to learn the language while they have no employment skills. I don't know how they're going to go about doing it," she said. "It's already difficult for those already here."

And although any new immigrant can apply for assistance after their first 90 days here, she said the new immigrants will be going through the same thing as those immigrants who have been here for years.

The trouble is that the county really isn't ready to face the newest challenges, County Administrator Manuel Lopez said.

"We're just not set up for them right now," Lopez said. "We're aware of it, and we're scrambling to get everybody ready."

And while the federal government has provided some money for those counties expected to be the new homes for the refugees, Lopez said the money allocated is small, minor.

"It's about $400 per person for each family," said Lo, the executive director of Lao Family Community. And it's only for one month.

That $400 per person is to help the new family pay for rent once they leave their sponsor, or anchor family, Lo said. It also includes the basic utilities and a hope that the parents will have jobs before the next month's rent is due, he said.