Self-Help for the Elderly opens a new nutrition center in District 11, the highest Asian populated district in SF

(SAN FRANCISCO) Under the newly adopted redistricting map in San Francisco, District 11 becomes the largest Asian district ahead of Sunset among 11 supervisorial districts. Self-Help for the Elderly is the first organization to open a brand new community center to serve primarily Chinese Americans in District 11.

Self Help for the Elderly held a ceremony last week on May 5 with lion dances to celebrate the opening of the Geneva Community Center. The center which is located at 5050 Mission Street is equipped with a commercial kitchen to cook the hot meals for the seniors on weekdays from Monday through Friday.

"We have a soft opening here for two weeks. We hold the grand opening ceremony today to celebrate the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May," said Anni Chung, CEO of the Self-Help for the Elderly. "The Geneva Community Center becomes our 14th activity center to serve the seniors and the community."

Chung started planning to open a new center in District 11 two years ago. Chung remembered when she spoke with District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safai two years ago on an occasion. Safari suggested her to expand the Self-Help for the Elderly’s senior service to his district which covers Excelsior, Outer Mission and Oceanview neighborhoods with a growing Chinese and Asian population.

It took two years to make it a reality. Chung acknowledged that it was not easy to look for a place where they could have a commercial kitchen to cook hot meals for a large number of seniors.

With the help and support of the property owner, the Geneva Community Center is housed on the ground floor of the brand new building at 5050 Mission Street, which is around the corner of the busy commercial corridor Geneva Avenue in the Excelsior.

The seniors may sit down and enjoy their hot nutritious meals inside the Geneva Community Center. It will also be a venue for educational programs, workshops and social events for the residents in District 11.

"This is the district with one of the most concentrations of seniors in San Francisco. In the redistricting map, our district has the highest concentration of Asian Americans with 56.56%, even more than Chinatown and Sunset Districts. We are very lucky that we know the owner of the building. Now we have the new Geneva Community Center to serve the community," Supervisor Safai said.

Other supporters of the Geneva Community Center were honored in the opening ceremony, including Dr. Man Kit Leung and Dr. Joseph Woo, leaders of the Chinese Community Health Care Association (CCHCA) and All American Medical Group ( AAMG).

Most of the fundings for the senior nutrition program at Self-Help for the Elderly are from the City's Department of Disability and Aging Services. "Since the demand is huge, we always do not have enough funds to provide nutritious meals to our seniors. We rely on the private donations like CCHCA and AAMG," said Chung.

The Asian community in District 11 is in need of more social services from the City. Both doctors Leung and Woo spoke with Safai briefly about the lack of healthcare services for the Asian community in the district.

Sue Chin, a long time resident of Excelsior and one of the seniors who enjoy the daily hot meals in Geneva Center, was very excited to see the opening of the new nutrition center.

"I have lived in this neighborhood for over 10 years. We are not able to have the services that we need all these years. I normally would take the buses to go to Chinatown to see doctors and ask for translation services. Each trip takes several hours. Now I can save some time because of the new center," Chin said with a smile.