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I think about the yuppie 2nd gen-type Asian Americans who are driving the current conversation on the violent attacks on our elders who are on the side of developers in driving gentrification in Chinatowns and Asian neighborhoods across the country.
Our elders, if they can't afford to live in the communities, are driven to the fringes where they don't have the necessary protection or access to in-language and culturally competent resources.
Physical violence is just one effect of this.
Isolation and poverty also tag along.
Physical violence is just one effect of this.
Isolation and poverty also tag along.
They're starved of economic resources and income generation. They spend their entire days on the buses going back and forth between Flushing, NY and Bethlehem, PA to get casino vouchers to sell to make $18/day. https://abc7ny.com/poverty-asian-american-casino-buses/1632754/
The ones who have some shape of economic stability through Social Security and SNAP benefits (food stamps), aren't faring much better. They spend so much time in isolation and struggle to find places where they get treated with dignity and find community. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/nyregion/fighting-a-mcdonalds-for-the-right-to-sit-and-sit-and-sit.html
I've been on the CBO-side of things, but there just isn't enough funding or resources to support them. Not from the government grants. Not from foundations. Not from the 2nd generation+ Asian American professionals in Silicon Valley, the big law firms, or Wall Street.
Changes can't be just cosmetic changes: they need to be structural.
Guaranteed housing
Language access
Medical care
Closing funding gaps
Protecting them and their families from immigration enforcement
These things all go hand in hand in protecting our seniors.
Guaranteed housing Language access Medical care Closing funding gaps Protecting them and their families from immigration enforcementThese things all go hand in hand in protecting our seniors.
