A Warm Bowl of Soup
A story about friendship among Chinese immigrant seniors
Friendship, an everlasting theme across the life span, is an important component of social networks that facilitates socio-emotional goals of individuals, such as companionship, affirmation, intimacy and mutual assistance and support.
Just like the days when you are stressed out and are in desperate need to call a friend to give vent to your feelings, interacting with friends for older adults could be beneficial if not crucial for their mental and physical well-being. A study has found that compared to contact with family members, interactions with friends and neighbours were more strongly associated with low levels of loneliness among older adults.
It is even more true for immigrant seniors who are vulnerable to mental health issues due to language barriers, cultural shock, discrimination, pressure to assimilate, and lack of adequate and appropriate support and resources, according to a study on older Chinese immigrants' mental wellness.
Another research has found that Chinese immigrants are less likely to seek help for mental health problems, compared to their non-Chinese counterparts. Therefore, Establishing friendships among a group or a community could be a more tactic way to help them to buffer against the challenges of migration and acculturation.
In Vancouver's Chinatown, there is a friend group as such who are both neighbours and friends, 104-year-old Mrs. Shou Chun Wan, 86-year-old Mrs. Yuet Ling Lam, and 82-year-old Mr. Yi Feng Chan.
Language barriers is one of the biggest obstacles for immigrant seniors like Mrs. Wan, Mrs. Lam and Mr. Chan to make friends in Canada. Despite the sizable Chinese immigrant population today in British Columbia, it was not that easy to bump into someone who speaks the same language when they migrated here 40 years ago.
Here's when social service agencies and organizations become essential in terms of helping immigrants to have a smooth transition in Canada. Organizations such as S.U.C.C.E.S.S. offers a variety of programs from language instruction courses to dementia education program to community engagement activities to help expand newcomers' network.
Another organization, the Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice (hereinafter referred to as Yarrow), specifically supports immigrant seniors by helping them overcome language and cultural barriers and offering services to fulfill their physical, social and mental needs. And this is the very place where Mrs. Wan, Mrs. Lam and Mr. Chan got to know each other.
Beverly Ho, the Operations Manager of Yarrow, said that they've known Mrs. Wan for years, and got to meet Mrs. Lam and Mr. Chan when they were visiting her. Many seniors like them got the chance to meet and interact with each other through various periodical and seasonal events held by Yarrow.
Outside the interview, Mrs. Lam said they call Mr. Chan "萬精油 (Panacea)", a metaphorical nickname to refer to Mr. Chan as a solution to all problems and difficulties.
Sometimes, they bring over snacks and gather together to chat when they have time. Mrs. Lam said sometimes Mr. Chan will bring them some soup, and in return, whenever she boils something, she'll give him a scoop to chew on.
Living in the same building as neighbours and friends, Mrs. Wan, Mrs. Lam and Mr. Chan have become an important part of each other's lives, if not a family.
For immigrant seniors like them who live by themselves, it's reassuring to know that there's someone who will knock on your door to check on you, someone you can talk to and laugh with, and someone who will bring you a warm bowl of soup.
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