Day 1:
Today we drove over to the West Valley Community Services center in Cupertino to meet with Naomi Nakano-Matsumoto. As the executive director of WVCS, she spoke to us about the basic needs program that she helps run. The organization at WVCS involves providing food, shelter, and emergency assistance to low income families, which is achieved by below-market-rate renting, transitional houses, utility assistance, and connections to services (whether it be insurance or simply learning how to cook nutritiously). Because NCI focuses on Japanese American culture, I asked her differences that she sees in the JA community versus the larger community. She explained that while it is not apparent, many Japanese face homelessness, drug and alcohol problems, and gambling problems. However, because the Japanese culture stresses helping each other out rather than going for outside help, not as many will go to public centers such as WVCS. She also explained that while working in a JA community, it is easier to be "culturally competent," while in a larger community it is difficult because there are so many cultures to have to understand that many are not catered to. She then concluded our interview by detailing a story about how during a Christmas gift "adopt a family" program, many families would have necessities such as a "metal spatula" or "shampoo and razor" on their wish list, something that we take for granted. These families all live in Cupertino, which many would consider to be an affluent area.
Through speaking with Naomi, I tried to relate everything she said to the community in Japantown. I realized that many of the problems such as food, shelter, and lack of knowledge of services is apparent in every community, including SJ Japantown. Of course, as Naomi explained, it is not as apparent because many Japanese families try to deal with the problems on their own, whether it be because of pride or shame. These social services are apparent in the Japantown, such as Fuji towers, housing for low income families.
Afterwords, we went back to SJ Japantown, where Alex and I stopped by to say hi to Jimi, and he told us that we could help him out tomorrow with moving supplies for his new farming exhibit (the only one in the nation). We then went to Yu-Ai-Kai, where we met with many of the staff members and volunteers. Every day, the Senior Day Service program is held, which involves exercise and arts &crafts. This day, however, we worked with Sophie and one of the staff members named Julie. We measured most of the rooms in the building and ordered the photo album shelf.
Photo with Richard Konda at the Akiyama Wellness Center
Day 2:
Today we started out by interviewing Richard Konda, the Executive director of Asian Law Alliance, stationed in SJ Japantown. He explained the function of the program, which is direct legal services, community education, and community organizing. At first, ALA worked on all types of legal cases that low income individuals needed, but over the years, the demand for these services grew so much that ALA focused on immigration, citizenship, and immigrant victims of violence. In many of the cases, a person immigrates but is illegal, and while in a marriage the husband or wife is never given a green card, and ALA helps them get one. Many problems that Mr. Konda has faced are English level problems with citizenship, landlord and tenant relationships, and maintaining government aid.
Specifically in the JA community, Mr. Konda explained that less than 10% of his clients are Japanese, because more Chinese, Vietnamese, or Spanish immigrants are in need of these servies. Originally, ALA was partnered with JACL in 1976 in the Issei Memorial Building, but because the entire public needed these services rather than just Nikkei, the ALA moved to a more neutral building. However, during the redress and reparations program, many Japanese-Americans went to ALA to help with the rules and exceptions of the program, and many workshops were held specifically for the JA community. Although the Asian Law Alliance serves the larger community, it still remains tied to the Japantown community, as many of the donors are JA, and the annual dinner put on by the ALA supports the museum and JACL.
Through speaking with Richard Konda, it became more apparent the social service issues facing Nikkei in our community. As many of the JA are aging and becoming senior citizens, senior services, as in the Yu-Ai-Kai, are needed to service the community. Health issues and income issues come with aging, so many programs including the ALA were created to service these issues. Because many Japanese have limited English, the language barrier is still a problem for many Nikkei.
We then went over to JAMsj and met with Jimi. He took us out to lunch at Okayama's, a nearby Japanese restaurant. We got to meet with the restaurant owner, who had been working there for over 30 years, and his mom previously owned the restaurant. He explained how even though the customers have changed from all Japanese to a mix of ethnicity, he still prepares the same Japanese food as his mom had.
After lunch, Alex and I went over to help Jimi at the JAMsj. We moved a lot of boxes and old supplies from one of the sheds that is becoming an exhibit into a storage house next to the museum. This took about 2.5 hours, until it started raining too much to work.
At Okayama's with the restaurant owner
Day 3:
Today we went to Yu-Ai-Kai, and started the day off by playing Scrabble with some of the seniors at the center. Their names were Michi, Jun, and Betty, and they all were really fun to talk to, and it was a great time. Afterwords, interviewed Maria Solis, the one in charge of social services at Yu-Ai-Kai. She explained how the seniors are in need of socialization to prevent dementia and Alzheimer, and to keep them out of senior homes. Many programs, such as Senior Day services, Seniors at Home Program, and Hospital to Home are meant to connect the seniors with the community and ensure that they are eating and their habits are going to keep them living at home for the longest time possible. In addition, there are case managers who create a plan for each individual senior to ensure their health. While there are currently 80% Japanese at Yu-Ai-Kai, there will be many other ethnic groups in the future, and more bilingual services will be needed in the staff of Yu-Ai-Kai.
Through talking with Maria, I learned how important social services are to the senior Nikkei community. Just simply having a place to interact with other people prolongs health and prevents dementia.
Afterwords, we did some physical labor, by cleaning the poles of a tent. We then helped out with Bingo with the seniors. There were over 30 seniors, and they would play for cleaning supplies and other necessities. It was a lot of fun, mainly because the seniors took the game so seriously! Afterwords, Alex and I helped clean up, then we made posters for the upcoming "Japantown Prepared!" meeting, a meeting to inform the community of how to react to a disaster.
Helping out with Bingo!
Working on the posters for "Japantown Prepared!"
Day 4:
Today was our first NCI norcal intern day! We all met up at JCCCNC in San Francisco in the morning, and it was great to see all the interns that I met back at beginning retreat. We started off by meeting with Jon Osaki at the JCYC building. He showed us videos that JCYC had made for their fourtieth anniversary, and we discussed topics that he helped facilitate. He explained how the JCYC broadened their programs to cater to all ethnic backgrounds, which is why it is still so successful today, while other Japanese organizations are dwindling because they are only focused on Japanese Americans. He posed this very important question to us, which Leon Kimura had previously asked me and Alex: how can we get the youth more involved in the Japantown community? As a group, we came up with many possible solutions, such as reaching out to collegiate organizations, having incentives such as internships or volunteering opportunities, or even having a webpage and facebook page that brings the JA community together. The main problem, Jon explained, was enacting these new ideas into the community. He wanted us to be the ones take the inciative. We went out to eat with Jon and continued discussing our ideas.
Picture with Jon Osaki and Norcal Interns!
Afterwords, we met with Bob Hamaguchi, the executive director of the Japantown Taskforce, an organization focused on the development and preservation of Japantown SF. Bob talked to us about Japantown through an economist's perspective, and he thought that the type of shops and location of key shops were what would really be the way to keep Japantown alive. He explained that he wanted shops that would attract younger people (such as frozen yogurt or anime), but still maintain the Japanese American small-business culture. This would be done by having larger corporations stationed at the ends of the shopping mall, and have the smaller businesses in between, so there would be a flow of people.
Through talking to both Jon and Bob, it was interesting to see the two different standpoints each had on how to improve Japantown. One focused on bringing in the youth, and the other focused on bringing in customers for the businesses. Both, I felt, were important to preserving Japantown, but bringing in the youth, and connecting the Japanese community organizations with college students was really what struck me as important, and something that I could help change.
After we met with Bob, we walked around SF Japantown, because it was Alex and my first time being in this Japantown! We went to New People (anime gallery and store), Benkyodo (monju shop), and we walked all throughout the mall. It was a lot of fun just talking with the other interns, and exploring SF Japantown. It was amazing how different it was from SJ Japantown, because it had so many more stores, and much more people! I feel that San Jose is more community based, while SF is more commercial. Even just talking to the other interns, I felt that my experience interning in SJ was vastly different than those who interned in SF. Either way, we still had the common goal of learning more about the JA community, and finding solutions to problems that all Japantowns are facing, such as youth involvement.
Picture with Wes, Darcie, and Yuko
Day 5:
Today we started out at Akiyama Wellness Center. We helped Lisa by starting asset tagging, but we had to wait for another day to finish because we had an interview with Wes Mukoyama, the former director of Yu-Ai-Kai, and Darcie Kiyan, who works at AACI (Asia American Community Involvement). They explained that the the most eminent social issue in the Japanese American community (and all elderly community for that matter) is depression. Yu-Ai-Kai is focused on prevention of depression by senior care giving and physical activity, while AACI focuses on treating depression. Wes explained how Japanese cultural values such as Enryo, Haji, and Gaman all mentally prevent the Japanese American seniors from coming to seek help because they feel that they need to hold back and be strong by themselves. A major issue Yu-Ai-Kai has is getting past these values and getting the seniors the help they need to stay healthy. Yuko, a case manager at Yu-Ai-Kai explained how vital having people with cultural competency (such as herself) who can speak the language and understand the culture of the patients.
We then participated in the Senior Day Services with about 14 seniors. We spent about 30 minutes just talking to the seniors at a table. It was funny how they would often repeat themselves, such as asking where we lived or how much Japanese we understood. We were able to experience first hand the conditions that the staff had to work with on a daily basis. All the seniors were very friendly, and Alex and I felt welcome right away, even though some of them seemed disappointed that we couldn't speak Japanese. We played table bowling with them, until they had to go home.
Through this week, the social service issues facing Nikkei in our community became more apparent. In the elderly Nikkei community, the problem of having proper treatment and care to ensure their vitality is important, but having people who understand Japanese and Japanese culture is just as important. Also, problems such as low income, gambling issues, and housing problems is apparent in the JA community, but because of JA values such as Enryo and Gaman, most people don't reach out for help right away. Getting past this barrier of cultural issues is another issue facing Nikkei. Through this week, I felt much more aware of the problems that face this small community, including participation of the youth (Jon Osaki), business problems (Bob Hamaguchi), and the social issues of various age groups in Japantown.
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| Picture with the seniors and staff at Senior Day Services |
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