Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA)

The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association was founded over 100 years ago as a way of providing aid to Chinese immigrants. The CCBA would help them in various facets of their new lives, such as providing meals, shelter, and medical assistance in times of unemployment or hardship. The CCBA also acted as mediators between conflicting parties, as well as helping with funeral arrangements for underprivileged families and for those who did not have families.

Times have changed since then, and so have the needs of Chinese immigrants. Now they need help in learning English, health care, reporting taxes, application for social benefit and Naturalization for them and their parents. The CCBA continues to aid immigrants with their current obstacles, whatever they may be.

The CCBA of Washington DC was founded in the 1940s and formally registered in 1952. In the 90’s the CCBA became a financially sound, non-profit organization due to the help of Mr. Art Ping Lee, Ms Yen-I Wong, and all Elders of CCBA.

In the 1970s, when the city’s planned to build a new convention center on H Street between 8th and 11th Streets which required the demolition of several Chinese-occupied apartment buildings, the CCBA represented the Chinese community in negotiations with Mayor Washington. The community’s first-generation elderly, many of whom lived alone, would’ve been severely displaced by the construction demolition. As a result of the CCBA’s negotiations, the Mayor agreed to build low-income housing at 6th and H Streets for the community.

Under the CCBA’s leadership, funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was secured to construct the Wah-Luck House (House of happiness for Chinese), which included 153 apartments and a large community room. Today, the Wah-Luck House continues to provide subsidized Section 8 housing for elderly and low to moderate-income residents. They only have to pay 1/3 of their income (roughly $150 per month).

Recently the CCBA of Washington DC has done many things to help it’s less fortunate members. The CCBA has sponsored free clinics to provide free blood testing and flu shots for the uninsured and elderly, sponsored a free Income Tax filing for the low-income families, and when residents feared they could not afford decent burials so far away from their homeland, the DC CCBA provided free burial site at Cider Hill, Fort Lincoln, George Washington and Washington National cemeteries so that even the poorest could die with dignity