Our History

The history of Immigrant Social Services in Chinatown parallels the expansive growth of the Greater Chinatown area that took place during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Throughout these years ISS specialized in providing after-school programs and summer camp to children and families with low income, typically comprised of parents working full time.

With programs like these Chinatown organizations like ISS have acquired valuable expertise in their consistent response to mitigating such risk factors like lack of structured adult supervision for youth and safe spaces for their healthy social development. ISS also understands and addresses through our programs the stresses many immigrant youth experience due to sometimes overwhelming pressures to assimilate to a new country and culture.

Today ISS measures its maturity and the quality of its accumulated experience by how well it has grown in acquiring knowledge and insight about the cultural values of the various immigrant groups arriving to our communities, specifically from Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. ISS was formed into a 501(c)3 corporation in 1972 with a simple mission to improve the condition and promote the welfare of immigrants and other persons seeking our services living in the Lower East Side and Chinatown communities.

Over the years ISS has carried out its mission mainly through: English language instruction, recreational activities for youth, after-school and summer camp programs for children and high school immigrant youth, summer youth employment programs, instruction to youth in drug prevention, and cultural programming for the whole family.