Elder Stories
Our Spring/Fall 2020 elder participants shared their COVID-19 experiences, life lessons, and personal values with their youth interviewers over our six-month pilot program.
“I have never struggled this much because of a virus. I have always struggled with financial hardships, but I have never dealt with this kind of hardship in my life.”
-On Hee H
continue reading →“During COVID, we are experiencing a dark time with people experiencing racism. You know it really scares me because I’m a first-generation immigrant and I’m concerned about my kids in the future.”
-Sean N.
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“I went to an American market, a place where white people went to, and I noticed that the cashier was putting all the groceries into the bags for them, but not us. At that time, since I wasn’t very good at English, I couldn’t even complain about it. ”
-Jong P.
continue reading →“My last job was as a caregiver for seniors. When I retired, I felt very proud of what I had accomplished.”
-Sung L.
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“I was 25 years old when I came to America in 1979. I came here by myself. My siblings are still in El Salvador. I miss them. I call them, I write to them, I video call them…but it’s not the same.”
-Jennifer L.
continue reading →“The masks [get] sweaty in two minutes, and now that it’s summertime everybody’s sweating and coughing and sneezing ‘cause of COVID. I don’t even want to take public transit.”
-Andrew C.
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“I wanted to help people on both a physical and mental plane. I thought to myself, what can I do to bring restoration in the physical body and psychological restoration in families?”
-Pastor J.
continue reading →“I can’t move around as I please because of the “stay at home” order. In fact, if I’m not playing tennis, I’m just at home.”
-Gilbert K.
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“I have mixed feelings about the changes. I’m disappointed that our town has gotten so dirty, but I’m happy that Koreatown has developed much more to support its residents. ”
-Tae Mi K.
continue reading →“I was working in Singapore while my two kids were living in the Philippines. I didn’t want to miss their lives. I had to make sure the family was together, and the only way to do that was to come here.”
-Catherine C.
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