Diverse Elders Coalition

March 06, 2021    |    

  • A A A
    • Who We Are
      • The Coalition
        • Who We Are
        • Our History
        • Our Team
        • Our Supporters
        • Employment Opportunities
        • Contact Us
      • Diverse Elders
        • AAPI Elders
        • Black Elders
        • AI/AN Elders
        • Hispanic Elders
        • LGBT Elders
    • What We Do
      • Current Campaigns
        • Civic Engagement
        • Family Caregiving
        • Health Reform
        • Public Education
      • Past Campaigns
        • State Advocacy: Georgia
        • State Advocacy: New Mexico
        • White House Conference on Aging
    • What to Know
      • Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
      • Data Collection and Disaggregation
      • HIV & Aging
      • Immigration Reform
      • Medicare & Medicaid
      • Older Americans Act
    • What You Can Do
      • Tell Your Story
      • Explore Our Stories
      • Share Our Blog Posts
    • Library
    • Blog

    Blog

    Comments 0 Comments

    Mari Quenemoen

    February 6, 2017

    Nothing About Us Without Us: Bringing the Needs of Southeast Asian American Elders to Capitol Hill

    Last year, with the help of partners like the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia (CAGP) and the Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota, SEARAC collected over 400 comments in four languages from Southeast Asian American (SEAA) elders across the country. The comments were submitted in response to a call from the Administration for Community Living (ACL) for input on guidance for state plans on aging, which support programming for older Americans.

     Southeast Asian American elders face high rates of poverty and limited English proficiency. (SEARAC.org)

    Southeast Asian American elders face high rates of poverty and limited English proficiency. (SEARAC.org)

    The comments elevated the voices of our Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, and Vietnamese elders, whose stories are largely unknown or misunderstood by policymakers. Nearly all (98%) Southeast Asian Americans over the age of 55 were born outside the US, and between 85-90% of these elders speak English “less than well.” Not only that, but nearly half of Vietnamese and around one third of Cambodian, Hmong, and Laotian elders live in homes where no one speaks English, making it very different to understand and access complicated government benefits and services. Southeast Asian American elders are also twice as likely to live in poverty than American elders overall. 22% of Hmong and Cambodian elders, 18% of Laotian elders, and 17% of Vietnamese elders live in poverty in the United States, compared to 9% of elders overall. That means many of our parents and grandparents struggle to pay for basic necessities like food and utility bills. Many are dependent on social services like Medicaid/Medicare, food stamps, and low-income energy programs, which can require navigating complex bureaucracies.

    The elders who submitted comments illustrated these statistics. Some talked about the difficulty they have accessing information about essential services:

    “I cannot get services by myself. It’s too hard to speak to a machine on the phone. I don’t understand them, and they don’t understand me.”

    “My parents need help. Life is hard with no English. They do not offer Khmer anywhere else to help us.”

    Others talked about the crucial role that community-based organizations like CAGP play:

    “My children live far away. They cannot help me. I go to CAGP for everything. It’s even hard to talk to someone on the phone.”

    “CAGP is very important to me. I utilize their social services/case management services on a regular basis for SNAP, medical assistance, and language assistance. I can’t get this help elsewhere.”

    You can find more comments and information on the experiences of SEAA elders in the infographic we created for the DEC.

    SEAA older adults at the Lao Assistance Center of MN. (laocenter.org)

    SEAA older adults at the Lao Assistance Center of MN. (laocenter.org)

    But SEAA elders also have among the highest rates of naturalization in the Asian American community. While 66% of all Asian Americans become naturalized citizens, about 80% of Vietnamese elders, 77% of Hmong elders, 73% of Laotian elders, and 70% of Cambodian elders are naturalized. By sharing these comments with governmental agencies and policymakers, our elders are exercising their rights and duties as American citizens, and we are proud to uplift their voices.

    On February 23rd, we will join the Diverse Elders Coalition on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, to release the DEC’s new report, “Aging with Health and Dignity: Diverse Elders Speak Up,” based on the over 5,000 comments collected by the coalition in 2016. Older adults, policymakers, and Coalition leadership will share stories and findings from the report to educate Congress about the challenges and resiliencies of American Indian/Alaska Native elders; Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian elders; Black and African American elders; Hispanic and Latino elders; and LGBTQ elders. You can RSVP here if you’d like to join us on Capitol Hill, or visit the Diverse Elders Coalition website to learn more.

    Southeast Asian American elders have a unique history and experiences, but they share similar challenges and barriers with many other communities of color, immigrant communities, and LGBTQ elders. By joining in coalition with our DEC partners, we bring an undeniably powerful collective voice to Capitol Hill, and we will urge policymakers to make sure our elders can age with dignity and health.

     

     

    The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Diverse Elders Coalition.

     

    Share Print this        Email Email this        Print Print this

    Recent Posts

    • Science moved at unprecedented speed to develop vaccines against the new coronavirus. It was too fast for some Latinos—especially those egged on my myth and misinformation.
    • How to Stay Safe When Going Back Out in Public
    • Centering Vaccination Planning on Equity: Intersecting Considerations of Age, Race, and More

    Most Popular Posts

    • 35 quotes to help guide your life from famous African American older adults
    • Dion Wong: A conversation with a 69-year-old Chinese gay man (AAPI Heritage Month)
    • Chinese Seniors in New York: Where to Live
    • Growing Older Together: Queer People of Color and Aging
    • HIV/AIDS is Still an Issue for Older Gay Black Men

    Issues

    • All
    • Access to Services
    • Aging & Ageism
    • Caregiving
    • Chronic Illness
    • Civic Engagement
    • Cultural & Linguistic Competence
    • Data Collection / Research
    • Discrimination
    • Economic Security
    • Elder Abuse
    • Health & Wellness
    • Health Reform
    • HIV / AIDS
    • Housing
    • LGBTQ Communities
    • Medicaid / Medicare
    • National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA)
    • National Caucus and Center on Black Aging (NCBA)
    • National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA)
    • National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA)
    • Older Americans Act (OAA)
    • People of Color
    • Public Policy
    • Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)
    • SAGE || Advocacy and Services for LGBT Elders
    • Social Security / Retirement
    • Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
    • Transportation

    Tags

    #MakeHistory #PrideInPlace #TellACL 2020 AAPI AAPI Heritage Month AAPI Older Adults AARP Activism ADRD advocacy Affordable Care Act Africa African American African American Elders Ageism & Culture Aging Aging in America Conference AI/AN AI/AN Elders AI/ANs aid AIDS Alaska Native Alyssa Tulabut Alzheimer's Alzheimer's Disease American Indian American Indian & Alaska Native Elders American Indian Alaska Natives American Indian and Alaska Native Elders American Indian and Alaska Natives American Indians/Alaska Native Elders American Indians and Alaska Native Elders American Society on Aging Arab American Arab Americans Asian American and Pacific Islander Elders ballots barriers BIPOC Black Black History Month Black Lives Matter Black Veterans Black Veterans for Social Justice Blog Brazil care Caregiver Caregivers Caregiving Caregiving in a pandemic Caring Across Generations CDC CDSME Census Christmas Civic Engagement Clinical Trials Commemoration Commonwealth Fund communities communities of color community Community Catalyst Community Catalyst. Pandemic COMPASS Congresswoman Continuing Education Coronavirus COVID-19 COVID-19 Cases Cultural Competence Cultural Competency Culturally Competent Healthcare data Dawn Dearborn Dementia Dementias Department of Aging Direct Services Disability Discrimination Disinformation diverse Diverse Elders Stories Initiative Doubts Dr. Marcy Adelman Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dual Eligibles Early Voting Earthquake Economic Security Education Egypt eldercare elders Election Election Day Election Reflections Employment/Workforce Issues End of Life enrollment Essential Workers event Events Executive Director exercise Families family Family Caregivers Fears finances Financial Finding a Job Finding a Job LinkedIn Fitness Fitness and Exercise Food and Nutrition Functional Exercise funds Geriatrics Gerontological Society of America Gina Le Grandaughters Grandmother Grandparents Hassan Abbas Health Health & Wellness health care Healthcare Health Care Workers health coverage Health Disparities health equity Health Insurance health research Healthy Aging Healthy Eating Hispanic Elders Hispanic Heritage Month Hispanic older adults HIspanics HIV Holidays Home Exercises House Hunger Hurricane Hygiene Immigration / Refugees immunizations Indian Country Indigenous insurance Intergenerational Intergenerational trauma In The News Isolation Jenny Manrique Justice & Equity Justice in Aging Katrina Dizon Mariategue Kham Moua Khmer Kristine Ajrouch Language Access Languages Latinos LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's Latinx lawsuit Leadership LGBT LGBT Caregivers LGBT Elders LGBT History Month LGBT Older Adults LGBTQ LinkedIn LinkedIn Profile Listening Session Living Lockdown Long Distance Caregivers mail-in vote Mayra Acevedo MCCFAD medicaid medicare Medicina Salud Publica Mental Health mental health care Metro Detroit Misinformation money Myth NAPCA National Council on Aging National Disability Employment Awareness Month National Indian Council on Aging National Minority Health Month National Work and Family Month Native American Heritage Month Native Americans needs assessment Neighborhood and Community New York New York City Next Avenue NHCOA NICOA Nonprofit NYC obstacles Oklahoma Older adults Older adults of color Older Americans Month open open enrollment Outdoors Paid Leave Pandemic People of Color People with Disabilities Personal Perspectives Philanthropy Physical Health Plan policy polling PPE Pride Month prizes Programs Public public health Puerto Rico queer Quyen Dinh raffles Reflection registration Related Dementias research Resiliency Risk Factors RRF safety SAGE SAGECents SAGEVets SEAA SEARAC Second Wave Self-Care seniors Services Shawnee Tribe Sina Sam Social Engagement Social Isolation Social Justice social worker South Asian Elders Southeast Asian American Southeast Asian American Caregivers Southeast Asian Elders support survey Technology telehealth telemedicine Thanksgiving The John A. Hartford Foundation trans Transgender Elders Two-spirit U.S. Treasury Department Unemployed United States University of Michigan University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine vaccinations vaccines Veterans vote voting Voting plan webinar Web Seminar Weight Gain Weight Loss White House Conference on Aging WHO Work & Purpose Workplace Workplace Issues Yvette Clarke
    • Who We Are
      • The Coalition
        • Who We Are
        • Our History
        • Our Team
        • Our Supporters
        • Employment Opportunities
        • Contact Us
      • Diverse Elders
        • AAPI Elders
        • Black Elders
        • AI/AN Elders
        • Hispanic Elders
        • LGBT Elders
    • What We Do
      • Current Campaigns
        • Civic Engagement
        • Family Caregiving
        • Health Reform
        • Public Education
      • Past Campaigns
        • State Advocacy: Georgia
        • State Advocacy: New Mexico
        • White House Conference on Aging
    • What to Know
      • Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
      • Data Collection and Disaggregation
      • HIV & Aging
      • Immigration Reform
      • Medicare & Medicaid
      • Older Americans Act
    • What You Can Do
      • Tell Your Story
      • Explore Our Stories
      • Share Our Blog Posts
    • Library
    • Blog

    Join Our Community

    © 2021 Diverse Elders Coalition. All Rights Reserved.  |   Terms of Use