An event for AANHPI seniors
In a first-of-its-kind event, India Currents partnered with CA. Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s Office to initiate and sponsor a community outreach advocacy program for the well-being of aging AAPI seniors. The initiative celebrated AAPI Heritage Month and Older Americans Month with a Resource Fair and Panel Discussion at the Vietnamese American Service Center in Santa Clara County on May 30, 2024.
More than a dozen organizations providing services for seniors in the county participated in the Resource Fair for Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Older Adults, together with government officials and departments, as well as ethnic media publications such as India Currents, Chinese-Ameican DingDing TV and Philippine News. Flyers advertising the event were translated into English, Hindi, Tagalog, and Chinese and distributed to reach the county’s diverse AAPI population.
India Currents Donor Advisor Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney who coordinated the event with Tuan Nguyen and Juan Rodriguez from Ash Kalra’s office said the collaboration worked well. “We enjoyed building our partnership to support seniors and look forward to working together for more such events.”
Connecting the community
Vandana Kumar from India Currents reiterated the importance of connecting the community, particularly its seniors, to the incredible resources available to them. She told Ding Ding TV, a media partner covering the event, “The beneficiaries today are really the community.”
State Assemblymember Ash Kalra launched the event by addressing the gaps in care that hinder senior well-being. He recognized that AAPI older adults still face many challenges in identifying essential support services, from health care to transportation, at a low cost. Kalra added that he understood what seniors and their families endure since he has served as his dad’s primary caregiver for many years.
“This is why it is so important to have such a resource fair and panel discussion today, bringing together many stakeholders and local partners to ensure our community is equitably informed about these resources and services,” he said.
Kalra thanked Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez and her hard-working staff member, Ly Vo, for working with his office, county agencies, and nonprofits to organize a meaningful resource fair and panel discussion on aging. He also thanked India Currents, Ding Ding TV, and the Vietnamese American Service Center for coordinating with both offices and for their commitment to bringing the concept of a community event to reality.
Panel discussion
India Currents’ Prachi Singh moderated a panel discussion on Asian American Older Adult Resource Equity that allowed the audience of residents to ask questions and featured the following community leaders and service providers:
- HaNhi Tran, Senior Manager, Vietnamese American Service Center
- Mary Ann Warren, Director, Department of Aging and Adult Services
- Kayla Chen, Community Resource Specialist, Sourcewise
- Sheri Burns, Executive Director, Silicon Valley Independent Living Center
- Mahesh Nihalani, Director of Community Partnerships, Priya Living
Over sixty seniors joined the resource fair and approximately forty seniors attended the panel discussion. Many went home with useful information and had their questions answered, especially regarding housing issues; seniors now have a place to get help submitting applications to apartment complexes.
Prachi Singh, India Currents Community Engagement Editor who works on a WhatsApp strategy for India Currents to engage readers on priorities and issues around aging, noted, “It was eye-opening to see the number of resources available for the community. Yet, the issue of making those resources known and accessible remains, as noted by the panelists and that’s why collaborative events like these are important. As ethnic media, it also makes our role in the community that much more necessary to make sure we’re filling the information gaps.”
The event also featured cultural performances – a Bharatnatyam recital by dancer Haritha Rajasekhar, a student of Political Science at UC Berkeley, and music by Vietnamese singer Robson Nguyen, a Mental Health First Aid Instructor at VASC.
Ash Kalra aging initiatives
Assemblyman Ash Kalra served two full terms on the San Jose City Council and has represented the Santa Clara County residents for the last 8 years in the State Legislature.
During his time in the State Assembly, he initially served as Chair of the Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care and passed legislative initiatives to benefit older adults in the state. Kalra remains committed to protecting the well-being of California’s aging population. This year, he introduced two legislative bills.
- Assembly Bill 1993 – Expanding Care Facilities for Elderly allows small Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly to serve up to eight individuals which will unlock homes for thousands of residents, providing both housing and care for the state’s aging population.
- Assembly Bill 2773 – Justice for Elder Abuse Victims will increase access to justice for elderly and dependent adults who are physically abused and neglected in nursing homes and discourage facilities from intentionally destroying or concealing evidence.
Both bills have passed the Assembly floor and are now in the Senate.
Resource Fair
The Resource Fair featured service providers from the county to educate attendees about services available for older adults. Participants learned how to sign up for the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) benefits, become an IHSS provider, enroll in the Senior Nutrition Program, Meals on Wheels, get a free bus pass, and more.
The service providers that participated included the County’s Public Health/Diabetes Prevention program, the Department of Aging and Adult Services, the Santa Clara County TB Clinic, the Santa Clara County TB Program, the Santa Clara Family Health Plan, Sourcewise, On Lok, the Silicon Valley Independent Living Center, the Vietnamese American Roundtable, Self-Help for the Elderly and University of California, and the University of California San Francisco School of Nursing.
The Resource Fair was a highlight on India Currents’ roster of events to amplify healthcare resources for seniors in the community, as part of its commitment to provide coverage on aging issues.
“What a fantastic event to celebrate our common AAPI heritage at the beautiful Vietnamese Community Center,” said Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney who worked closely with Ask Kalra’s team to organize the event. “It was a great opportunity to help facilitate connections between our community and the organizations that provide support to our aging seniors while working with elected leaders to raise awareness of issues on the ground.”
This series was made possible in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program.
Correction: The speaker pictured in the last image, HaNhi Tran, Senior Manager, Vietnamese American Service Center, was misidentified as Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez in an earlier version of this article.