San Francisco Celebrates with a Welcoming Week Block Party in September
San Francisco, CA – Beginning July 1, San Francisco City departments began to officially roll out Vietnamese-language services, following a 2024 amendment that added Vietnamese to the City’s Language Access Ordinance along with Chinese, Filipino and Spanish.
This means that the City will be translating important information about its services and programs across all City departments into Vietnamese for the first time. The additional language requirement means that the roughly 10,293 San Francisco residents who speak Vietnamese will have access to documents and forms in their own language, language interpretation when speaking with City staff, and assistance by phone in Vietnamese.
To commemorate this occasion, on September 12, San Francisco will be hosting a community block party for Welcoming Week 2026 to celebrate the official certification of Vietnamese under the Language Access Ordinance.
When: Saturday, September 12, 2026, 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Where: Little Saigon (Larkin Street between Eddy and O’Farrell)
Who: San Francisco Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA), San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission (IRC), Language Access Network of San Francisco (LANSF), and Southeast Asian Community Center (SEACC)
San Francisco is home to thousands of limited English proficient (LEP) residents who speak languages such as Chinese, Filipino, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Some 44% of the total San Francisco population over the age of five speaks a language other than English at home and about 149,000 San Franciscans are LEP residents. Without adequate language services, these residents face barriers to basic City services, from calling 911 to applying for affordable housing to accessing government-issued identification.
San Francisco’s LEP residents can face dangerous barriers especially in emergencies when every second matters. In a crisis, LEP residents must be able to quickly understand instructions, communicate what is happening, describe where help is needed, and help to determine how serious the situation is. Language barriers can delay access to emergency assistance, complicate communication with the police, EMTs, or first responders, making it more difficult to understand critical instructions. Moreover, LEP individuals may be less likely to call for help when they need it because of concerns about whether they will be understood in their native language. Expanding language access across San Francisco’s City agencies could mean the difference between someone who receives lifesaving assistance and a resident who does not.
Language access is not just about helping San Franciscans communicate with City agencies; it is also about making sure that its residents can access the benefits that Congress created to ensure that families can access basic needs services. This is especially critical now as the federal government makes monumental changes to Medicaid and SNAP, known as Medi-Cal and CalFresh in California. As the social safety net becomes more difficult to navigate for San Franciscans who rely on these benefits, language access is more important than ever to ensure that LEP individuals do not unintentionally disenroll from their benefits.
Statement from San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie
“We want government to work for every San Franciscan, but we can only do that if we speak their language. Expanding Vietnamese-language services across departments helps ensure that everyone in our city can access emergency services, food and health assistance, and other essential resources. This is what it means to be a city that welcomes immigrants and supports their communities, and we’ll keep building on this work until government can speak fluently to every person who needs it.”
Statement from Supervisor Shamann Walton, District 10
“Every San Franciscan regardless of the language they speak deserves to be heard, understood, and fully included in the life of our city,” said District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton. “The rollout of Vietnamese language certification is an important step forward in making that promise a reality. For our Vietnamese-speaking residents, this means greater access to city services, a stronger voice in our civic processes, and the ability to participate more fully in the decisions that affect their families and communities.”
Statement from Jorge Rivas, Executive Director, SF Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs
“We’re excited to celebrate this milestone for language access alongside our community partners whose work made this possible. Adding Vietnamese as a certified language — alongside Chinese, Filipino, and Spanish — means that more community members will be empowered to access the City services and information they need and to fully participate in civic life.”
Statement from Sarah Souza, Chair of the Immigrant Rights Commission
“The Immigrant Rights Commission applauds the Language Access Network (LANSF) for their advocacy to ensure communities can access the information and services they need in their language. The IRC has fought for language justice since its founding. We advocated for the first iteration of the Language Access Ordinance in 2001. We held a series of special hearings with community organizations, and OCEIA launched a Community Language Access Survey in 11 languages, to strengthen the law. Today, we are pleased to join with community and City leaders in taking another step forward in expanding language access.”
Statement from Diana Vuong, Executive Director, Southeast Asian Community Center (SEACC)
“Today is a proud and historic moment for San Francisco’s Vietnamese community. Recognizing Vietnamese as a certified language under the City’s Language Access Ordinance ensures that Vietnamese-speaking residents have greater access to City services and the opportunity to participate fully in civic life through access to translation, interpretation, and language assistance. SEACC is proud to celebrate this milestone alongside our community partners and City leaders, and we look forward to building on this progress together.”
Statement from members of the Language Access Network of San Francisco
“Recognizing Vietnamese as a certified language is a long-overdue step towards ensuring that Vietnamese-speaking residents in San Francisco can fully access the services and resources they need to thrive. It will also allow SEADC to serve our community more effectively, ensuring that Vietnamese-speaking residents can engage with programs, understand their rights and receive support in the language they are most comfortable using,” said Judy Young, Executive Director, Southeast Asian Development Center.
“San Francisco has long claimed to be a city for all, and the rollout of Vietnamese language access across the City is an important step toward making that promise a reality. When residents can access critical services, understand their rights, and fully participate in civic life in the language they understand best, San Francisco is stronger. Language access is not optional, it is a necessity. We are proud to have secured these changes and we couldn’t have done it without Supervisor Shamann Walton, and all the co-sponsors, for their incredible leadership in ensuring equitable access for all San Francisco residents,” said Anisha Hingorani, Policy Manager of Programs at Chinese for Affirmative Action.
About the Language Access Network of San Francisco:
The Language Access Network of San Francisco (LANSF) is a coalition of community-based organizations, funded by the Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA), to provide community education on language access rights, gather data on implementation of the language access ordinance including violations and complaints, and provide community centered input on best practices in serving other-than-English proficient communities.
It includes African Advocacy Network, Arab Resource & Organizing Center, CARECEN SF – Central American Resource Center, Chinese for Affirmative Action, PODER: People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights, Southeast Asian Development Center (SEADC), and South of Market Community Action Center (SOMCAN).