User:Toddlertoddy/Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice

Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice, also known as Yarrow Society, is a non-profit organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, supporting youth and low-income immigrant seniors in Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside. It was founded by Chanel Ly and Yulanda Lui in response to a need for medical interpretation for Chinese-speaking seniors.

Its mission is "to provide and enable services, advocacy, and education that develop youth and senior leadership and build community power in Chinatown."

History
Yarrow Society, prior to becoming a non-profit organization, operated under the name Youth for Chinese Seniors, which functioned under the Downtown Eastside SRO Collaborative and the umbrella organization Atira Women's Resource Society in 2015. Yarrow Society became a formal non-profit organization in 2018. The original group Youth for Chinese Seniors initially provided medical interpretation and outreach to isolated seniors in the Downtown Eastside. After incorporation, the organization moved into the Sun Wah Centre, where seniors, staff, and volunteers were able to engage in a dedicated space.

Programs
Yarrow Society currently offers medical accompaniment and interpretation services for Chinese-speaking seniors in both Mandarin and Cantonese. Yarrow also hosts the Sticky Rice Collective, a collaboration between volunteer youth and seniors to create intergenerational relationships. The Seniors Core offers seniors the chance to gather and provide feedback and direction for Yarrow. Yarrow has also expanded to provide casework services, including housing and income support.

Yarrow developed Speak My Language, a storytelling media arts project for youth and Chinese seniors that shared experiences of language and cultural barriers in accessing healthcare, exploring individual and collective healing, and envisioning a culturally accessible healthcare system.