The Province of BC has provided Nikkei Seniors Health Care and Housing Society (Nikkei Seniors) with $2 million as part of its commitment to honour seniors who lived through the traumatic uprooting and displacement of almost 22,000 Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. The Province of BC is acknowledging the role they played in the historical wrongs committed against the Japanese Canadian community during the period between 1942 and 1949. The grant came out of the efforts of the National Association of Japanese Canadians’ (NAJC) BC Redress initiative. The NAJC is currently in talks with the BC Provincial Government to determine multiple legacy initiatives for the community.
Purpose
Nikkei Seniors has designated the $2 million for the Japanese Canadian Survivors Health & Wellness Fund (Fund).
At its core, the fund is primarily targeted at seniors who were directly impacted – uprooted and displaced – by the BC Government during this period. By extension, seniors whose families left BC during the war but were born out of province from 1942-1949 are part of this demographic. Nikkei Seniors will also strive to include impacted seniors who were not displaced yet lived in BC and suffered through this era and its aftermath. The fund will be distributed in Canada.
The purpose of the Fund is to provide grants to enhance programs, activities, and services that will directly benefit the health and wellness of these living survivors.
This Fund is an initial step to meet the health and wellness needs of these Japanese Canadian survivors and provide community asset mapping to identify health care gaps. This data will be used for future projects.
First Round of Meetings with NAJC Chapters
The Project has met with all 18 NAJC chapters and their boards in the first phase of our community outreach. We are pleased to have some of the organizations engaging in the process on a Working Group. They will be assisting us by connecting us with their regional organizations, small groups, and community leader contacts. In addition, they will help with our communication efforts by spreading the word through various communication platforms.
Outreach Continues as Criteria is Developing
We are just starting the outreach to other community organizations. Those meetings are underway. We are working on developing the criteria for the grants as we continue our outreach, with Linda Kawamoto Reid as project assistant.
How to Get Involved
The Project office is up and running. If you are from a small group or organization, and have not yet been contacted by our Working Group, please feel free to reach out to the Project Office.
