Women in red-and-green ao dai danced onto a stage decorated for Christmas at the First Senior Center of Georgia in Norcross.
They were celebrating the holidays with more than 600 other Vietnamese seniors at the largest community center for Vietnamese people in the state, with entertainment, lunch and a warm clothing drive for those who need winter coats.
First Senior Center of Georgia in Norcross is dedicated to creating community for Vietnamese elders, a large portion of whom were resettled to the U.S. as refugees after working with American troops in the Vietnam War.
“As a younger generation Vietnamese born in Vietnam and came here in a boat as a refugee, I have always felt that I was saved,” said Von Tran, the founder of FSC. “Millions lost their lives at sea escaping from Vietnam, and I knew God must have had some plan for me besides enriching myself.”
Tran knew every person who walked into the holiday party at the center. She bounced from hosting on stage, taking photos with community members and hugging visiting elders she hadn’t seen in a while.
She founded the nonprofit senior daycare center in 2017. FSC was named the largest nonprofit organization with a free food pantry in Atlanta and the second in the state. It provides health care, transportation, social events, and free or low-cost, culturally appropriate end-of-life care and burial to the low-income seniors they serve.
“Our elderly, they are at a disadvantage. They do not know the language. They do not have the technology or access to the kind of services that are provided by the government,” Tran said. “They’re the most vulnerable population that needs the most help.”
She’s partnered with businesses, nonprofits and local and state government to help connect resources to the Vietnamese community.
“It’s so important when we have a center that bonds who we are reaching out to all cultures at all levels,” said Regina Miller, the deputy director of the Gwinnett County Department of Community Services. Miller said FSC helps fill the gaps that can exist between social services and those who need them, but might not know how to access them due to cultural or language barriers.
Miller worked with Tran during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver 300 boxes of fresh produce to seniors at their homes to protect them from getting sick while still allowing them to eat healthy food. Gwinnett County had the resources, and Tran had the knowledge and transportation to the Vietnamese community.
“We are seeing what is called the avalanche of senior population growth,” Miller said, “and we’re all just trying to find a way for our seniors to age in place. They need to feel a part of that community.”
Hundreds of seniors sat around banquet tables and chatted as platters of soup, greens, fried rice and vermicelli streamed out into the senior center. Tran read some wishes they had written on Christmas cards.
“I wish every friend in our Senior Center have health and happiness,” she read, “and to enjoy all the good things here.”
