CAPI helps immigrants, refugees, and people of color connect with the resources they need to build established, happy lives. CAPI USA was founded as The Centre for Asian and Pacific Islanders in 1982 by a coalition of church groups helping Southeast Asian refugees settle in Minnesota in the aftermath of the Vietnam war. In the decades that followed, CAPI embraced new refugees and immigrants from all over the world, including East and West Africa, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan, Thailand, and Burma, among others. In 2008, the agency changed its name to CAPI USA to reflect this increasingly multicultural focus and diverse client base.