The second week of the Nikkei Community Internship is focused on health and human services. We were given a tour of the Yu-Ai Kai, the Japanese American community senior service center that we will be working with this week, led by Sophie Horiuchi-Forrester, the Executive Director of Yu-Ai Kati, and we learned about the various programs they provide. We talked with Ms. Maria Solis about the bilingual case managers and wellness coordinators that are on site to help clients and direct them to the proper resources, and about Senior Day Services, support groups, and other programs available.
In the afternoon, we visited the Community Health Partnership (CHP) and were introduced to Grace Melanio, the Director of Communications and Health Policy for CHP. CHP’s goal is to increase the access to uninsured and to ensure viability and sustainability to everyone in the community. She educated us about the community health issues that Asian and Asian Americans face in the county and the importance in taking preventative measures. We learned that different demographics are more susceptible to different health issues, and about the Affordable Care Act. Especially in such racially and economically diverse communities, it is difficult to educate the public about things like disaster preparedness and the importance of health care. We were shocked to learn that so many people in our own community do not have health care plans and are unable to easily obtain the one that is best fit for their circumstances.
After lunch, we stopped by the Akiyama Wellness Center. Like Yu-Ai Kai, it provides many services for the elderly. We were surprised to learn about the generation gap among the senior demographic and how late 50s to 60s are considered the younger generation while the 80 year olds and up tend to stick with each other. The Akiyama Wellness Center caters to the younger seniors providing acupuncture, tea clubs, and even iPad classes! After the tour of the Akiyama Center, we met with the Activities Coordinator of Yu-Ai Kai, Julie Hubbard. She spoke about the different services and activities that Yu-Ai Kai provides including pool tournaments, newspaper rolling, and trips to Reno but she also mentioned the differences between the different cohorts in the elderly population. We were surprised about the variety that Yu-Ai Kai had to offer for seniors and how much it provides for the community.
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| Touring the children's room with Ms. Wun and Ms. Kiyan at Hospice of the Valley |
The second day of health and human services weeks started with a nice lunch with Mrs. Horuichi-Forrester and Ms. Kiyan at Dia de Pesca. It was nice to speak with them and get to know more about themselves and what they do while eating delicious Mexican food. After lunch, we followed Mrs. Kiyan to Hospice of the Valley where we met Jeanne Wun, the Community Relations Manager. She gave us a tour of Hospice of the Valley and the different facilities and services they offer. She informed us that hospice care is not well known, especially in the Asian community. She also encouraged us to think about the future and decide what our wishes would be when it becomes necessary. We also met with the Director of Development Carlene Schmidt. She provided knowledge about grant writing and how the process can differ depending on each case. We left with a bag of goodies -- thanks for those and also to everyone for meeting with us today.
The third day, we met with Rich Saito to discuss the town hall meeting. He taught us that the community must be ready, willing, and able in order to be united and prepared for a disaster. Aggie Idemoto, Kathy Sakamoto, and Sophie Horiuchi-Forrester were heads of the first Japan preparedness seminar and created the first plan for Japantown. Mr. Saito also gave us a mini tour to introduce us to some of the main organizations/businesses in Japantown. By July 23, we will be hosting our own town meeting to discuss with the community how to prepare for an earthquake!
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| Bingo Day at Yu-Ai Kai Midori Kai |
After lunch, we volunteered with Bingo day at Yu-Ai Kai. Bingo day is the last Wednesday of the month and we had a lot of fun helping. The first round of Bingo, everyone wins a prize! During the big prizes given away to the first people to get four corners, an X, and then a blackout, one woman won two bags worth of grand prizes. We were surprised to see that the prizes on the prize table consisted of practical items. There was toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap, and broaches, but the crowd favorite by far was the Dawn dish soap.
The fourth day, Michelle went to San Francisco for the weekly NCI intern days. Every Thursday, the San Jose interns meet with the San Francisco interns to attend workshops and meet community leaders in San Francisco. The interns met at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCNC) early in the morning. The first person we were introduced to was Jon Osaki, the Executive Director of the Japanese Community Youth Council (JCYC). NCI is a program under the JCYC and is one of the many programs that are part of the JCYC. We watched a couple videos about JCYC and how it has evolved over the years. Mr. Osaki also provoked us to think more about what we want to see happen in the community and how we would go out and do it.
After lunch with Mr. Osaki, we moved from the JCCNC to Kimochi where we met the “Godfather” of San Francisco Japantown, Steve Nakajo. He has been on almost every board and founded Kimochi, a senior program that provides services to the seniors of Japantown. When he asked us to introduce ourselves, he first came off as intimidating but he was attentive and asked each of us questions about ourselves. He even took the time to write down each of our names, showing us that he valued what we had to say. Mr. Nakajo is an authentic, strong man who has witnessed a lot in Japantown and is very knowledgeable about its history. He grew up during the 1970s when young people wanted to give back to the community and help the Issei.
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| Arthritis Foundation's Walk with Ease Group YAKSeniorCenter |
The fifth day started off with newspaper rolling at Yu-Ai Kai. They had stations set up at every table with stacks of newspapers ready to be stacked. When the pile was high enough, it would be folded into thirds and tied to be weighed. If it weighed 25 pounds or more, it was tied and completed. After newspaper rolling, Michelle went to the Akiyama Wellness Center to meet with Barbara Masterson and the Arthritis Foundation’s Walk with Ease group. The group started off with light walking, then light stretching exercises. From the Akiyama Wellness Center, the group proceeded down to seventh street and back to the center. The walk ended with more light stretching and then it was time for lunch with Ellen where Michelle recapped health week. Thank you Ellen for the delicious lunch at the Hukilau!
After lunch, Michelle headed back to Yu-Ai Kai to volunteer with the Senior Day Services. There, she met some of the seniors and got to know more about them. The seniors were lined up for senior basketball. Instead of a ball, the seniors would use bean bags to try to make baskets from behind a line. The seniors really got into the game and it was quite exciting. Senior Day Services ended with a song and then Michelle was off to visit Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI). There, she met Melissa Luke, the Domestic Violence Program Manager for AACI. The Domestic Violence Program provides many services including case services, essential basics, a 24 hour crisis line, and a shelter. They have 15 different languages spoken provide services for people in the LGBT community and even men. She shared some reasons why she enjoys her job and how the job and her co-workers inspire her every day.
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| Melissa Luke at AACI |
Finally, the day ended with a dinner with Joe Yasutake of the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMSJ), Jim Yamaichi, and coordinators/alumni and high school participants in a Japan program run by the Japanese Consulate. I also met one of the receptionists from JAMSJ and learned more about why she volunteered at the museum. This program reached out to Japanese American high schoolers who might not be in touch with their Japanese culture. The participants were from Nashville, Portland, and Washington DC (this girl was friends with Lily Obama). It was nice to meet them because while they were learning more about their culture, it was apparent how growing up in California can be a great learning experience. Michelle was shocked to hear that the participants did not know what sashimi or tonkatsu were. The participants were confused when their soup bowls did not come with a spoon.
Switching to first person, I enjoyed getting to know more about the participants. I appreciated that they wanted to know more about their Japanese culture and were taking an active role trying to learn more since they were not as exposed when they were growing up. It made me realize how much of my culture I have taken for granted and assumed that everyone knows the “proper” Japanese American phrases and customs. This week was packed with a lot and I cannot wait for the next six to be just as exciting, enlightening, and fun.
