During the Vietnam War, thousands of Hmong and Lao veterans fought alongside U.S. troops in Southeast Asia. When the war ended, about 200,000 soldiers and family members sought refuge in the United States. About 60,000 Hmong now reside within the jurisdiction of HUD's Fresno Office, making it one of the largest regional Hmong groups in the nation. The Hmong New Year is traditionally the most celebrated holiday in the Hmong culture, and the New Year's celebration in Fresno is among the largest Hmong events in the country.

The colorful, crowded New Year celebration helps Hmong youth learn and preserve traditional culture. While wearing festive clothing and playing a ball-toss game, they meet and sometimes court youth from other tribes and clans. With nearly 15,000 people attending daily, it also was an excellent opportunity for HUD to be visible in the Hmong community and make valuable information available to a large regional minority group.

This year's week-long Hmong New Year celebration in Fresno kicked off at the County Fairground on Wednesday, December 26, 2001, with traditional dances, games, and retail and information booths. Many Hmong Veterans took part in the celebration, and the City of Fresno made a commitment to build a War Memorial in their honor. Fresno HUD staffers (above, meeting Hmong veterans) Toulu Thao, a native Hmong, and Larry Roselle represented the Department and made information available on affordable housing, fair housing, and other HUD programs and initiatives.

While the national homeownership rate is about 67%, the rate in the Hmong community is estimated at 10% or less. The reasons for this low homeownership rate include the language barrier, a lack of culturally-relevant housing education, low incomes, meager financial resources, and housing discrimination. In his keynote address, former General Vang Pao, a longtime Hmong military leader, spoke of past struggles of the Hmong people and problems they face in the present. He discussed the lack of affordable housing, the need for more non-profit service providers in the Hmong community, and discriminatory housing practices that compound the Hmong's problems.

HUD's Fresno Office has undertaken a significant number of initiatives to better serve this large, regional minority population. In partnership with local nonprofit groups and housing agencies, the staff developed and circulated a Housing/Service Provider Directory for Hmong/Southeast Asian communities; a homeownership video in the Hmong language; a Hmong Homeownership Web site, and have been active participants at homebuyer and other local fairs. The office currently is developing a non-traditional homebuyer education curriculum for the Hmong community, and is working with local Hmong nonprofit organizations and Self-Help Enterprises of Visalia to launch an affordable housing project and community health care center in Fresno.