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Some older AAPI adults deal with social isolation. Local groups are helping

Every week, 67-year-old Connie Bateman gets ready for a weekly outing with a volunteer from ACC Senior Services, a nonprofit that offers support services to older adults in Sacramento. Being visually impaired, Bateman likes that she is able to stay active and visible in her Meadowview neighborhood in South Sacramento.
“It just makes me feel safer,” Bateman said. “It’s more fun to walk with other people.”
Her volunteer this week, Tommy Vasquez, 62, escorts Bateman and many other older adults on their weekly walks or trips to a cafe. He calls himself a caring and people person, and enjoys the opportunity to meet others. He signed up as an ACC volunteer three years ago, right after retiring.
“I enjoy it because you get out and about,” he said. “I’m glad I found this gig.”
In the Pocket-Greenhaven neighborhood, Gail Shimabukuro, 79, who uses a walker to ambulate, is sometimes joined by 70-year-old Michelle La, another volunteer with ACC. Shimabukuro said she feels safe walking with La when they take a short stroll around the block.
“If I walk by myself, there is nobody to call,” Shimabukuro said.

“Safety is the first goal,” La adds.
Vasquez and La are part of ACC’s Senior Escort Program, which sprung up in 2021 in response to the rise in hate incidents against Asians during COVID-19. Founded in 1972, ACC was formed by a group of activists that expressed concern about the overall welfare of Asian communities in Sacramento, particularly the well-being of non-English speaking immigrants.
Social isolation is a big issue for many adults in the Asian diaspora, and many of them who experienced hate incidents during the height of the pandemic were often targeted when they were alone, said Jeri Shikuma, home & community-based programs administrator for ACC.
What started as a safety project has since “blossomed” into a movement that now helps Asian elders physically, mentally and the development of deep friendships, Shikuma added. “They’re meeting people they would not have normally met,” she said.
In January, ACC hit a major milestone and celebrated 2,500 walks between volunteers and participants.

In a further effort to address loneliness within the community, ACC has newly launched its phone-based program known as CHAT, which stands for Conversations Helping Adults Thrive, and helps connect homebound older adults to volunteers for friendly conversations.

Hoping to address the underlying needs of the Asian diaspora, what ACC offers is part of a plethora of resources that are available for Sacramento’s aging Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community, all working hand-in-hand to ensure that the older adults are supported and living out the best of their remaining years.

At the core of each organization’s common mission is one solution — finding community.
Essential resources

For many of the older AAPI adults in Sacramento, it’s been challenging having to navigate the convoluted web of resources available to them. It is even more pronounced when there is a language barrier.
Asian Resources Inc., which formed in 1980, has been one of the key community collaborators in Sacramento, helping connect people to vital resources such as enrollment in food stamps, health insurance, providing language access, digital literacy and assistance navigating doctor’s appointments, according to Executive Director Rejie Marie Baloyos.
They have also kept their finger on the pulse of major impending policy shifts that could potentially complicate resources for the community, such as the looming cuts to Medicare insurance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Baloyos said. In preparation, ARI has begun conversations with the community about what to expect should this happen, and is also preparing by identifying organizations that can potentially provide food to those who rely on SNAP.

The ever-changing state and federal policies impacting older adults mean organizations like ARI will have to work harder to fill in the gap.
“In the long run, I know our seniors need more support,” Baloyos said.
Language access is one of those areas of support. Baloyos has observed that as more older adults seek immigration assistance and explore the pathway to citizenship, the language barrier and difficulty navigating the system only amplifies fear.

It is why the organization has co-sponsored Assembly Bill 1242, which ensures language access across California by requiring every state agency to conduct a language survey every two years in their statewide and local offices to determine language needs in their area. According to the bill, it would also establish a Language Access Director within the California Health and Human Services Agency, “to provide critical oversight, accountability, and coordination across various state departments and agencies to ensure individuals with limited English proficiency and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing have meaningful access to government programs and services.”
But, elder mental health remains a key issue as many older adults struggle with sadness and isolation, and are wary of addressing it as a problem, Baloyos said.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, social isolation and loneliness can put a person at risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicide, dementia and early death.

In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General released a report “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation” stating the lack of social connection increases the risk for premature death “as much as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.”

In order to curb some of these devastating health outcomes, both ARI and ACC have partnered with other local organizations to support some of their outreach programs that center older-adult communities.

One of those partners, Iu Mien Community Services, which has supported the local Iu Mien Community since 1994 with services pertaining to healthcare, exercise and food distribution, does just that.

Amid the many programs they do offer, the Healthy Village Senior Group was created to provide community-based education and promote a healthy life among older adults, said Executive Director Susan Saechao.

Every Tuesday at Sacramento’s George Sims Community Center, the program brings in between 80 and 100 people who travel from as far as Merced, Yuba City, Marysville, Oroville and Redding, to meet other older people in the community.
“It is one of our best programs we have,” Saechao said.
Older adults have also begun celebrating their birthday at the Tuesday gatherings, often asking their children to buy food for the event, so they can celebrate with friends. Once a month they have guest speakers present different topics related to health such as vaccinations and reading prescriptions.
Saechao said there are still challenges that older people face that require support, time and attention, which is why they hold office hours to help folks review paperwork, mail and navigate the complicated health insurance system. While volunteers and interpreters are available to help set up appointments, navigate referrals and insurance authorizations, a lot of older adults choose to opt out of preventative health care checks, according to Saechao.

But the desire to remain healthy is there, Saechao said, adding that whenever they have held a vaccine clinic, more than 40 community members get vaccinated on the first day.
Encouraged by the community-centered programs Iu Mien Community Services offers, the participants themselves have spread the word within the community, asking more people to join, Saechao said.

“It’s been absolutely amazing,” she said. “It’s a big testament to how successful this program has been.”
This story is part of the Solving Sacramento journalism collaborative. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, Capital Public Radio, Hmong Daily News, Outword, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review and Sacramento Observer. Support stories like these here, and sign up for our monthly newsletter.
2025-06-12 21:29 SOLVING SACRAMENTO