Hmong American Mutual Assistance Association

To all of the foregoing depressing notes must be added the new phenomenon – to the Lao/Hmong – of the grandparents being left behind. In a country and a culture that idolizes youth and banishes from view the elderly and the infirm, the Hmong senior citizen is often reduced to an afterthought. This simple act is shattering to the psyche of people born and raised in a culture and tradition of respect for elders and the fully integrated pattern of family/communal life that was theirs in Laos. Families struggling to meet housing and food costs and meet state-mandated guidelines for MFIP assistance work multiple jobs, are left with little time for the grandparents. If there is a connection, it is as a family “instant daycare” source, to be called upon to watch the infants during the workday.

This has resulted in the well-recognized systemic response afflicting much of Minnesota’s other elderly, in that seniors become more isolated and their movements restricted to the availability of family cars and drivers. The dangers of disease and medical crisis are compounded, as immediate response is not available during the day. Household dangers, including gas fumes, electrical fires, heating exhaust in winter, etc., may go unnoticed until too late. And with the increasingly greater distances between Community families, especially inflicted by the destruction of the Minneapolis Public Housing Community in Near Northside Minneapolis as a result of the Hollman Consent Decree, walkout and check-in visits are less frequent. Crime, “youth gangs” and other evils simply pile on to the elderly situation to compound the problems.

In a most disturbing trend, we are finding that increasing numbers of our Hmong seniors are joining in the treks to the casinos courtesy of the free buses stopping at nearby corners. Based on the statements of family members, at issue is the lack of involvement of the seniors in daily affairs and their attempt to brighten a dull day. While we will not demonize the casinos, we are very wary of this development and believe that if even one social security check is at risk it is too much. We already have too many examples of younger family members losing their child care benefits, making demands on the elder children to drop school or homework to take care of younger siblings. Before this goes much further something too must be done to bring our Hmong seniors back to the center of life in our Community.