Asian Counseling and Referral Service

Our Mission

Asian Counseling and Referral Service  (ACRS) is a social justice organization that promotes the health and well-being of Asians and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders and other communities by providing and advocating for responsive community-based services.

Our Work

For more than 50 years, Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) has offered hope, opportunity, and voice to all, serving generations of Asian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and other underserved communities across King County. Founded in Seattle's Rainier Valley in 1973, ACRS has grown into a trusted, community-rooted organization with a staff of 300+. Through one welcoming door, clients can access more than 30 culturally responsive programs in over 40 languages, supported by multilingual, multicultural staff who understand the realities so many families face. 

For many in King County, working hard is no longer enough to keep up. For immigrants, refugees, seniors, and low-income families already navigating tight budgets, language barriers, or unstable work, each new increase in the cost of living can hit hard. Those pressures show up every day at ACRS, in growing demand at the ACRS Food Bank, in the urgency of job seekers looking for stable work, and in the difficult choices families are making. 

Nourishing the Community

At the ACRS Food Bank in Seattle's Chinatown-International District, need is surging. In 2025, the number of people served increased by 16% and visits rose by 10% over the previous year. In response, ACRS distributed nearly 1 million pounds of food, provided more than 28,000 emergency meals, and harvested 5,000 pounds of fresh vegetables from its community farm, up 8% from the year before. 

"The need in our community is real and it is growing. We are committed to making sure that every neighbor who comes to us leaves with food that feels familiar, nourishing, and dignifying," says Miguel Saldin, ACRS Nutrition Program Manager. 

Rising food costs are putting additional pressure on the program. A case of green onions that cost $26.40 in March 2025 jumped to $60 by January 2026, while red peppers rose from $27.50 a case to $48.75. 

As household budgets tighten and programs like SNAP become less dependable, more neighbors are turning to ACRS for help. For ACRS, food access is not just about quantity. It is about providing culturally familiar food that tastes like home.  That's why every year, community members come together for Walk for Rice, an annual event that raises funds for ACRS to buy food staples.

Building Paths to Stability

ACRS employment and training services help job seekers find, prepare for, and apply for jobs, including through the Ready to Work program, a 10-week course that builds English, digital literacy, and job readiness skills for limited-English-proficient job seekers. Through class exercises and hands-on learning, participants develop career plans, practice real-world workplace communication, and build the confidence to navigate a job search in a new language and culture. 

For many participants, Ready to Work is more than a job training course. It is a bridge to stability. Graduates leave with sharper skills, a clearer career direction, and stronger footing to pursue meaningful, long-term employment. ACRS also partners with community organizations to open new pathways into fields like aviation and construction. 

"People are doing everything they can to move forward, but rising costs and systemic barriers can make that path much harder. ACRS helps clients build practical skills, navigate opportunities, and gain the stability they need to pursue meaningful, long-term employment," says Alexandra Olins, ACRS Citizenship and Employment Director. 

Meeting People Where They Are

Food insecurity, employment instability, and the rising cost of living are connected. A parent searching for work may also need help putting food on the table. A family member who lands a job may still need support until their paycheck catches up with their expenses. 

That is why ACRS's holistic model matters right now, offering integrated care shaped by community members' language, culture, and lived experience. Multicultural staff support a wide range of needs, from counseling and addiction recovery to citizenship services, senior programs, advocacy and civic engagement, and mind-body wellness. 

ACRS meets clients where they are, in their language, rooted in their culture, and guided by a belief that access to care is a matter of justice, not charity. That commitment, born in the civil rights movement of the 1970s, guides everything ACRS does today. 

Community support through GiveBIG directly sustains these services as families navigate rising costs and ongoing uncertainty. Every donation helps ACRS provide culturally familiar food, support job seekers on the path to stable employment, and deliver care shaped by the language, culture, and lived experience of their neighbors. Please invest in this mission and our shared future.