About

Our Mission

In every community across America, vulnerable adults are being abused, neglected, and exploited. In many instances, their plight is ignored, underreported, or minimized. It's a growing crisis, and one that our Filipino nurses and professional caregivers witness firsthand—some bravely reporting, while many others hesitate, unsure of what to do, or afraid of retaliation. Kapwa Kalinga was born from this reality.

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We believe that our community of can make an impact in advancing the protection of vulnerable adults in our community, and society. We set out to build a community movement that not only cares, but acts. A collective where compassion turns into awareness, awareness into courage, and courage into protection for our elders and our care workers.

Rooted in our Filipino culture of care...

Caring isn't just what we do. It's who we are.

We're here to help protect our elders and empower families and our community of care workers to give the best level of care and dignity to those in their care.

Our Story

Ours is a culture of care, woven into every aspect of our lives. Caring for others—family or not—is a deeply held Filipino calling. Perhaps that’s why there’s rarely a Filipino who isn’t connected to a nurse, doctor, or healthcare professional. We show up when it matters most—on the frontlines of every health crisis. We were there during the pandemic. And we are here now, in a quieter but equally urgent crisis unfolding before our eyes: elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

This issue hits close to home. In every story of abuse, we see our own parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. We also hear from the caregivers in our community—dedicated professionals who witness these realities firsthand. As mandated reporters, they are entrusted to speak up, yet many hesitate, unsure of how to act or fearful of retaliation, isolation, or losing their livelihood.

These stories—shared in confidence, in frustration, and sometimes in silence—brought our founders together. They recognized a painful gap between what our community believes in and what is actually happening behind closed doors.

Kapwa Kalinga was born from that realization—and from a shared sense of responsibility to do something about it.

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A Culture of Care

A Community of Caring

Rooted in the Filipino value of kapwa—seeing ourselves in one another—our group came together as caregivers, advocates, and community members to raise awareness, empower action, and create a culture where protecting our elders is everyone’s responsibility.

Because caring for one another isn’t just who we are—it’s what we must continue to stand for.

Why This Matters

Elder abuse and neglect in the Filpino American community is underreported, misunderstood, and is often hidden behind culture (hiya, family privacy, avoidance of conflict). Families often do not recognize the signs, and caregivers are frequently navigating overwhelming conditions without enough support.

By raising awareness, educating families and caregivers, empowering community action, meaningful engagement, and connecting people to trusted resources, this community-led initiative aims to advance elder protection through programs, advocacy, partnerships, and culturally grounded support systems for Filipino American families.

This is a community issue, and it calls for a community response.

Who We Are

Kapwa Kalinga was created by a coalition of community organizers and public interest advocates with a heart for the plight of our elders -- our lolos and lolas, titos and titas, parents, friends, and kapamilya. Our goal is to bring together organizations, caregivers, professionals, and community leaders to create a movement founded on a shared responsibility for our elders.

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