ACC Senior Services has long been involved in meeting the needs of its community, even shifting its focus when necessary. What began in the 1960s and ’70s as two Sacramento groups concerned with the welfare of Asians is today a hub of resources for all seniors to socialize, access transportation, get job training or utility assistance, and more.
“We always emphasize lifelong learning for seniors,” said Krystal Wu, the program coordinator for ACC’s utility assistance program. She navigates utility bills and contracts for people who don’t speak English, translating them into Mandarin and Cantonese, and makes presentations at the organization’s senior living apartments.
ACC Senior Services
“We’re trying to provide all the help we can not just to the Asian community, but to all senior community populations,” added Sean Hildago, its video production coordinator.
Hidalgo was hired mid-pandemic, as ACC was ramping up online class and workshop offerings. Today, they offer daily classes and workshops that include Thai Chi, ukulele, meditation, yoga, and art. The events are a mix of in-person, hybrid, and Zoom, and open to people of all ages. Hidalgo said young kids sometimes join their family members in the classes.
ACC Senior Services is also a housing provider that offers independent and assisted living communities in the Greenhaven/Pocket neighborhoods, where they’ve distributed emergency preparedness resources through a partnership with Listos California and the Sacramento Region Community Foundation.
Their team distributed critical resources to hundreds of local seniors who attend their workshops and gatherings. During one session, seniors received a comprehensive preparedness guide and were educated on the essential items to include in emergency go-bags. In another, residents who speak Chinese developed
emergency contact lists in English to ensure they can communicate effectively with English-speaking response teams during crises.
Wu said having various disaster readiness materials made available by Listos in different languages was especially helpful. Hidalgo added the Listos materials were easy to understand, even for a beginner.
“I learned a lot about disaster kits, emergency preparedness steps,” Hidalgo said. “It made it really easy for someone who’s never really looked into this to prepare them enough to present to others and feel competent doing so.”