Trusted Messengers: How CVPIA Became a Lifeline for Pacific Islander Families

CVPIA is a social justice organization committed to serving, advocating for and uplifting Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities in California’s Central Valley. They strive to create safe spaces for all NHPI identities, foster cultural connections, amplify NHPI voices and support resource navigation—all in solidarity with other marginalized communities. Today, CVPIA serves over 1,500 community members across 11 Central Valley counties

On a warm April day in Modesto, Bernadine Tuisavalalo and others from the Central Valley Pacific Islander Alliance (CVPIA) were preparing land for a community garden. They would soon plant a variety of vegetables, including taro, a root crop central to Pacific Island cultures and widely grown across Asia and the Pacific. 

CVPIA envisions the garden as an intergenerational gathering place, where younger people can learn from elders while cultivating and sustaining Pacific Islander traditions. 

“The garden is a direct expression of resilience,” Bernadine said. “Many of our home islands are experiencing the impacts of climate change faster than most, and this space is a way to respond through community and culture.” 

CVPIA’s own roots lie in the COVID-19 pandemic, when data showed a devastating reality: in California, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI) were three times more likely to contract the disease and twice as likely to die from it. This is despite NHPI people making up a tiny fraction of the population. For Bernadine, it was a stark confirmation of what she and others in the NHPI community had been experiencing as parents, uncles and aunts began getting sick. 

CVPIA works to promote Holistic Health Education and Living by supporting elders and providing a comprehensive Resource Directory and Navigation Support. The organization recognizes April 28, 2021, as their birthdate.  On that day, leaders organized a COVID-19 vaccination clinic, expecting 10 people to attend.  When the day was over, they delivered 250 vaccinations.  That turnout confirmed the important role CVPIA plays as a trusted messenger in the community.  Photo courtesy of the Fresno City & County Historical Society.  All rights reserved.

So Bernadine and five other volunteers quickly mobilized and started meeting via Zoom to discuss what they could do to help. Within six weeks, they pulled together the first Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander vaccine clinic in the Central Valley. They expected 10 people to show up; instead, they vaccinated over 250 that day - April 28, 2021.

“We consider this CVPIA’s birthday,” Bernadine said. “It’s when our community saw us as ‘trusted messengers’ who understood how to reach our people and serve them.”

Today, CVPIA has grown from a six-person volunteer project into an organization that serves, advocates for and uplifts Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities in California’s Central Valley. They serve over 1,500 community members across 11 counties through three pillars: health, health equity and youth and young adult services. They also have a new elders group called Guiding Hands. 

CVPIA was founded through the collaboration of Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC) and the Southern California Community Response Team, SoCal PICRT. 

“While CVPIA was founded with the support of EPIC and SoCal PICRT, it was the longstanding Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander organizations in the Central Valley that allowed us to reach communities more deeply and intentionally,” said Bernadine.  These include No Te Here O Te Hiroa in Fresno, Via Dolorosa Congregation Christian Church in Modesto, CenCal CHamorus in Lemoore, Kiki Raina in Merced and Tatou Uma in Bakersfield. 

The CVPIA leadership is grateful for the support they’ve received. “Everyone stands on the shoulders of somebody, and I’m so grateful for all the leaders who came before me and serve alongside me,” Bernadine said. 

This month, Central Valley Community Foundation joins with others across the country who are celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. We recognize CVPIA and celebrate the contributions of our AANHPI neighbors.

California has long been a destination for AANHPI immigrants, the first of whom were Chinese laborers who arrived in the 1800s. Japanese immigrants began arriving in the early 1900s. In the decades that followed, new waves of AANHPI immigrants would make their way to California, seeking hope and fleeing upheaval. After the Vietnam War, Hmong, Lao, Vietnamese and Cambodian families came to the Central Valley. In fact, Fresno is home to one of the largest Hmong populations in the country. 

In April, the Central Valley Pacific Islander Alliance hosted a meeting of their elders group, “Guiding Hands.” This is a community-driven initiative for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders aged 55 and over living in the Central Valley. Learn more @centralvalleypia.

To learn more about AANHPI heritage in the Central Valley, visit organizations like Central California Asian Pacific Women or the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. 

This story is part of the Central Valley Community Foundation’s “Sixty Stories That Shaped Us” initiative to help mark 60 years since our founding. We invite you to join us in celebrating this milestone and this special place we call home. To learn more, visit centralvalleycf.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn @centralvalleycf.