SF Bay Area Japanese senior home to close after 30 years

J-Sei Home, a residential care facility for Japanese elders in Hayward east of San Francisco will close this week after 30 years of operation.

J-Sei was one of the few culturally sensitive senior care facilities left in the Bay Area, where caregivers spoke Japanese, served Japanese comfort foods, and organized Japanese cultural activities for the residents. Most of the residents who are being displaced are in their 90s and have cognitive impairment.

Dianne Wong, executive director of J-Sei, explained that the decision to close the 14-bed facility was not an easy one but was necessary due to rising costs and waning interest. According to Nichi Bei News, the facility has never broken even in its 13 years of operation, and demand for such facilities has decreased as the Japanese American community has grown more diverse over the years.

It is set to close on Sunday, March 16.

J-Sei was started 30 years ago by young student activists in the Bay Area who recognized the need for services for immigrant elders and combined two different organizations, East Bay Japanese Action and East Bay Issei Housing, into J-Sei.

According to KQED, these young activists were inspired by the Third World Liberation student strikes in the 1960s that established ethnic studies departments at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University, as well as the Black Panther Party’s free breakfast program.

The young activists established senior community centers in Berkeley, El Cerrito, and Hayward. 10 years ago, there were 10 Japanese senior care homes in the region. Today, the number has declined by about half.