UNITED STATES, June 30, 2003: Long unknown in East Asia, where centuries of tradition dictate that children care for their parents until death, retirement homes have become part of the American experience for a generation of aging immigrants. The cultural taboo, coupled at times with a language barrier, has made adjustment that much harder for some seniors and compounded the guilt for their families. In response, a new type of retirement home has emerged that allows elderly Asian immigrants to hold on to some of their culture as they make their final adjustment to Western society. As the senior population becomes more diverse, housing experts say, retirement facilities targeting a specific culture will be a growing niche market. Some homes have incidentally attracted specific ethnic groups because of their location in a particular neighborhood. Others have been launched to attract seniors of Cuban, Mexican, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Indian descent — complete with bilingual staff and ethnic food. Clayton Fong, executive director of the Seattle based National Asian Pacific Center on Aging, said the trend is similar to the way immigrants formed ethnic neighborhoods. “There’s been a long tradition of if you’re going to leave your home and go to a strange place, you look for a common thread,” Fong said.
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