AADAP Celebrates Forty Years of History & Growth By Rahimah Shah, Administrative Assistant

AADAP jubilantly announces its 40th year anniversary of accomplishments and history as one of the pioneering Asian American drug and rehabilitation agencies in the country. Our history rose from the crises of the 60’s and 70’s. Young Asian American youth were dying of drug overdose and the community called for support. Volunteer youth groups and concerned individuals mobilized to address the problem. The founders of AADAP submitted a proposal to the Federal Government and on December 13, 1972, Asian American Drug Abuse Program, Inc. (AADAP) came to life. In spite of the politics, denial of the problems and financial challenges, forty years later, the agency has grown in the ability to provide various social services, manage multiple contacts and diverse populations as well as gain more knowledge of the non-profit world.

AADAP has grown in size from its beginning roots at the Western House, to Hotel Crenshaw, the agency’s first permanent home. Over the past four decades, our ability to provide more social services has tremendously increased and is offered with a culturally and linguistically sensitive approach. The medley of services have grown from the Residential Unit or what today is referred to as our Therapeutic Community Unit to specialized services and treatment for the youth, veterans, pregnant women, and for those who are at risk of contracting or transmitting HIV/AIDS, to name a few. Our comprehensive services also provide individual group and family counseling in Chinese, Korean, Khmer, Spanish, Japanese and Vietnamese.

Alongside our ability to provide more social services, AADAP has harnessed the techniques of dealing with multiple contracts and the money brought in by the contracts. From our humble beginnings of the responsibility of five to six contracts, we now manage over sixty contracts. The agency developed the ability to absorb larger numbers of staff, and therefore, clients. AADAP has sought out and continues to seek community and federal funding, grants and services for populations, who presented with a great need for rehabilitation every year. Importantly, our well trained staff addresses each generation’s addiction and new drug challenges.

AADAP has also amassed the ever-changing and complex knowledge of non-profit functions and longevity. The administrative development has matured and modernized, which in turn has helped to better empower our agency’s mission to progress forward. We’ve also solidified our partnerships with various community, local, state and federal leaders. In the future, we hope to continue to create more coalitions that will benefit our clients, youth and mission as a whole.

AADAP has helped turn lives around for the good. Today, we have evolved into an umbrella organization of over 100 staff and whose ten facilities are designed to address specific addiction and prevention needs in the community. Our target areas have expanded from Los Angeles to include parts of the South Bay, Inglewood, Carson as well as Long Beach. Our services are offered to a total of over 20,000 clients. With the support of our donors and founders, AADAP has, over its forty-year history, helped countless numbers of individuals find a path out of addiction and also provided a safe haven for a second chance at life. We extend our deep gratitude to our previous and present Board, staff, clients, donors and partners who’ve helped us reach our 40th year milestone.