Survivors Health and Wellness
Japanese Canadian survivors and elders did not think of themselves during the community consultations process. Yet it is foundational to justice for our community, and so to BC Redress, that our remaining survivors are able to live out their lives in dignity, with respect, and with adequate care for their health and wellness.
On May 5, 2021, the BC Government announced an initial $2 million contribution toward the Japanese Canadian Survivor Health & Wellness Fund, as an initial gesture of seriousness and commitment to reaching a full BC Redress package with Japanese Canadians.
These initial funds are supporting the identification of Japanese Canadian survivors, providing a needs assessment, and will begin distributing grants to Japanese Canadian service delivery organizations.
The health and wellness needs of our surviving elders are real and urgent. Further, given the deliberate dismantling of Japanese Canadian culture and identity, and the ensuing first-hand and intergenerational trauma, it is also essential that BC Redress create support for intergenerational wellness to include healing spaces, storytelling, gatherings to ‘break the silence’, where community members can come together to reclaim our culture and connect with one another to rebuild a stronger Japanese Canadian community.
The BC Redress meeting on Survivors Health and Wellness took place on July 23rd, 2021, was co-chaired by Susanne Tabata, and attended by: Lorene Oikawa; Paul Kariya; Ruth Coles, Cathy Makihara and Jay Hiraga, Nikkei Seniors; Keiko Funahashi, Tonari Gumi; Dr. Karen Kobayashi, UVIC; and Eiko Eby, Survivor Health and Wellness Fund. For the BC Government, Parliamentary Secretary Singh was joined by Hon. Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Hon. Sheila Malcolmson, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, and Mable Elmore, Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors’ Services and Long-Term Care, along with staff and officials.
Our community made a strong moral case for addressing Health and Wellness as a pillar of BC Redress, alongside a credible, competent plan for addressing these unmet needs.
Our Requests
- Funding for the creation of a Nikkei Village at Nikkei Seniors Health Care and Housing Society, consisting of a new complex care facility ($36 million), integrated affordable housing and childcare ($15 million), and a Helping Hands Centre for outreach, respite care, and health and wellness programming for Japanese Canadian seniors ($3.7 million).
- A community-led Survivors Health and Wellness Fund, valued at $5 million/year over 10 years ($50 million total), providing $4.5 million/year for survivor health and wellness funding, and $500,000/year for intergenerational wellness. The Fund would have a mandate to meet the health and wellness needs of Japanese Canadian survivors Canada-wide, including direct funding support for health needs (accessibility aids, home care, etc.), and community programming (outreach, health system navigation, social, meals, etc.). It would also focus on the wellness needs of their descendents, including funding for intergenerational storytelling and wellness programming–an essential legacy of BC Redress for current and future generations.
