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Ground to Be Broken for Asian Senior Center

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Times Staff Writer

The Vietnamese Community of Orange County Inc. will hold ground-breaking ceremonies Wednesday for a 7,000-square-foot center in Santa Ana to help recently immigrated seniors adapt to Western culture.

The Asian Senior Acculturation Center, to be located at 1618 W. 1st St., will provide companionship, meals and activities for up to 150 seniors, according to Tuong Duy Nguyen, executive director of the nonprofit organization.

“We want our seniors to join the mainstream, Nguyen said of the mostly Vietnamese seniors who will be served. To accomplish that, the organization will offer English classes and will familiarize seniors with Western traditions and laws, he said.

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Nguyen said 7,200 of the estimated 120,000 Vietnamese in Orange County are 60 or more years old. The center, however, will be open to all nationalities.

Serves Vietnamese, Latinos, Other Asians

The group already operates a prototype of the larger center from a small room next to its office at 3701 W. McFadden Ave. in Santa Ana. That center, opened in 1984, serves mostly Vietnamese but also other Asians and Latinos. The seniors are encouraged to share their cultures with each other and to make new friends, Nguyen said.

While loneliness is common among seniors, it often is more acute for immigrants who do not speak English and are unfamiliar with American culture.

“They are too lonely,” Nguyen said.

When the 1st Street center opens early next year, the smaller operation on McFadden Avenue will move there. The 2-story building, expected to cost $930,000, will feature an Oriental motif.

The Vietnamese Community of Orange County expects to raise half of the construction cost from private donations, Nguyen said, and the balance will come from state and local grants. The services will be free to the seniors.

The ground breaking will be held at 10 a.m. For more information, call (714) 775-2637.

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