{"id":466707,"date":"2026-09-17T11:44:31","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T11:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/466707\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T11:44:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T11:44:31","slug":"this-bay-area-immigrant-rights-organization-is-helping-filipino-caregivers-care-for-themselves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/466707\/","title":{"rendered":"This Bay Area Immigrant Rights Organization Is Helping Filipino Caregivers Care for Themselves"},"content":{"rendered":"

This project was produced jointly by KQED and CatchLight as part of the mental health visual desk initiative.<\/a><\/p>\n

Pakbet\u2019s only obligation was to focus on himself. At least for one day. In the bright orange office of Filipino Advocates for Justice (FAJ), where he was attending a special wellness meeting for caregiver worker leaders like himself, he closed his eyes, relaxed his shoulders and breathed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are seen. Inhale,\u201d a staff member told the group. \u201cYou are valued. Exhale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes, Pakbet said he feels valued, like when he was a private aide for Teddy, a 98-year-old woman at the retirement home. They developed a relationship like a mother and son, and he would treat her so \u2014 cooking her homemade chicken feet adobo, or watching makeup tutorials with her online. He\u2019d apply her lipstick, dress her in a gown and accompany her into the dining room, declaring, \u201cThe queen has arrived!\u201d Besides bathing her and monitoring vitals, he saw it as his job to make her laugh.<\/p>\n

\"\"Left: Karen Villanueva, executive director of Kilusan Wellness, leads a mental wellness breathing and massage exercise to open FAJ\u2019s Kapwa Circle, a monthly community-building event, at the organization\u2019s Union City, California, location on March 6, 2026. Right: Pakbet, worker leader at Filipino Advocates for Justice, holds the lyrics to \u201cPrecious and Few\u201d as the FAJ community sings to honor FAJ worker organizer, Santi Tagle Buensuceso, during a surprise farewell party about one week before Tagle Buensuceso relocates back to the Philippines, at the organization\u2019s Union City, California, location on March 6, 2026. Although Pakbet had a caregiving shift that evening, he joined the first half of the Kapwa Circle to attend the surprise going-away party for Tagle Buensuceso, who he considers an older sister and is relocating back to the Philippines.\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED)<\/p>\n

\"\"Members of the Filipino Advocates for Justice community practice a breathing and movement exercise during the organization\u2019s March Kapwa Circle.\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Other times, his body remembers: panic attacks from the chronic stress of unstable paychecks and exploitative employers, grief for his mother with cancer back home in the Philippines, whom he hasn\u2019t hugged in a decade. The depression has led to insomnia and isolation.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy world is work, home. I don\u2019t have any trusted friends,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pakbet, 54, said caregivers like him can feel overworked and undervalued. A Bay Area immigrant rights organization, FAJ creates an affirming space for them to rest and celebrate, so they can show up whole \u2014\u00a0not only for themselves but for others.<\/p>\n

\"\"Center: Pakbet poses for a portrait in his Bay Area home on May 4, 2026, where he has lived with his family for six years. Previously, they lived in abusive situations, sharing cramped spaces and experiencing mistreatment. In 2020, with guidance from a friend at FAJ, they secured their own apartment. \u201cWe rent, and we\u2019re very happy because my son has a room. I can cook now,\u201d said Pakbet. \u201cThat\u2019s our paradise.\u201d Left and Right: A Bible and cross adorn the walls of Pakbet\u2019s apartment. The demands of caregiving often weigh heavily on his mind, but he finds solace in his faith. \u201cIt\u2019s hard, it\u2019s very tiring,\u201d he said. \u201cWithout my son, without my faith, I almost give up.\u201d\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Leaning on Filipino cultural practices and intergenerational connection, mental health is woven into everything they do, from monthly gatherings and wellness clinics to everyday grounding techniques and artistic expression. Yet the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown and statewide funding cuts to mental health services have threatened their prevention work, even as a shortage in care workers <\/a>looms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Filipinos are heavily represented in the healthcare workforce, according to research<\/a>, and many are paid to care for older adults. Respect for elders is a deeply embedded cultural value. As California\u2019s population continues to age \u2014 about 25% will be an older adult by 2030<\/a> \u2014 caregivers will become even more essential. But isolation, burnout, racial discrimination, wage theft, and more can all contribute to mental health challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are the first to take care of everybody else. And that\u2019s done at the expense of their own bodies, their own emotional health,\u201d said Geraldine Alcid, executive director of FAJ. \u201cThey deserve to take care of themselves, and they deserve rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"An old photograph of Pakbet and Teddy decorated with makeup and his written reflections. To help Teddy prepare for outings, Pakbet watched YouTube tutorials to learn makeup and helped her choose dresses and jewelry. At the care home, Pakbet recalls people asking him, \u201cWhere is your master?\u201d but Teddy always defended him, responding that he was her family.\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED; instant photo made with and handwriting and decorations by Pakbet)<\/p>\n

\"\"Pakbet cooks chicken adobo at home. He de-stresses through cooking and finds joy in sharing his food. When caring for Teddy, a former client who was bedridden, he learned she had grown tired of retirement home meals and missed eating dim sum and chicken feet. He made her chicken feet adobo and began cooking for her. Over time, Pakbet says, she regained energy and began walking again.\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED; handwriting by Pakbet)<\/p>\n

When Pakbet first arrived in the States alone over a decade ago, he lived and worked at a residential care home for older adults. He said his boss forced him to sleep on cardboard in the garage, and his paychecks didn\u2019t reflect the long, exhausting hours. He also knew caregivers who died by suicide. Pakbet, at times, didn\u2019t know if he\u2019d make it. The reason he immigrated was to provide for his son\u2019s education.<\/p>\n

Pakbet said his Bible and a photo of his son got him through.<\/p>\n

Pakbet\u2019s experience is common. Yet cultural stigma<\/a> and shame can prevent Filipino immigrants from seeking support. \u201cI\u2019ve witnessed many times caregivers who need help. They get scared and hide in the dark,\u201d Pakbet said.<\/p>\n

Over a decade ago, Oakland-based community health center Asian Health Services referred an exploited caregiver who was anxious and stressed to FAJ. The organization realized others had similar stories, and it was the catalyst for it to focus efforts on prevention. In 2015, they launched a mental health support group for caregivers, many of them older, funded through a two-year Alameda County innovations grant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

FAJ expanded its program with the help of an eight-year county contract. They hired a licensed mental health professional on staff, as well as three part-time community outreach specialists to facilitate mental health offerings rooted in culture. FAJ also created a Healing Advisory Committee that organizes free annual wellness clinics, featuring Filipino traditions such as hilot, a massage focused on releasing trauma.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Top: Pakbet hangs a wet sheet to dry near the window in his Bay Area home. After years of living in the United States without access to an in-home washing machine, he set up a small washer in his apartment kitchen \u2014 a change he says has saved him time and eased the routines of daily life.\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED)<\/p>\n

\"\"Left: Pakbet holds calamansi \u2014 a sweet and sour Filipino citrus with fragrant flowers \u2014 that he harvested from the office garden at Filipino Advocates for Justice for cooking. Right: Pakbet\u2019s caregiving scrubs drape the living room couch where he sleeps so that his son can have the only bedroom in their apartment.\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED)<\/p>\n

In 2023, a one-time state grant from the Department of Aging enabled FAJ to shift attention again to caregivers. They provided training on topics such as nutrition and managing grief, weaving in hands-on clinics for everyday self-care.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At first, caregivers expressed apprehensive curiosity. Then eventually, they requested chia seed pudding recipes and acupuncture, even the caregivers who feared needles. The organization also provided acupressure rings people could roll on their fingers whenever they needed to calm themselves.<\/p>\n

Nervous system regulation is essential for moving from merely surviving to thriving, said Dr. Karen Villanueva, training lead and executive director of Kilusan Wellness. And for the majority of caregivers with little time or money, accessibility is key. \u201cSo much the better if you can tuck it in your pocket and take it out when you need it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This July, the policy changes California made to its landmark Behavioral Services Act took effect. When voters passed Proposition 1 in 2024, they approved Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s plans to shift funds away from prevention and early intervention toward treatment beds. FAJ\u2019s prevention funding, which supports half of their direct services, was reduced from $360,000 to zero dollars \u2014 the organization lost its licensed mental health professional and folded its community outreach advisers into other roles.<\/p>\n

At the special meeting for wellness worker leaders, where Pakbet could slow down and breathe, the thinning manifested in another way. Usually, nearly a dozen caregivers would be gearing up to knock on the doors of care homes in the East Bay, handing \u201cknow your rights\u201d information to employees. The organization pays these workers a learning stipend to perform this outreach work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But when Pakbet looked around the office, he was one of the few caregivers who had stayed. Half of the group had chosen to spend their remaining years in the Philippines as the Trump administration pushes to aggressively crack down on immigration. Many said they were tired of feeling criminalized and undervalued, or, as one staff member of the organization said, an \u201cAmerica-doesn\u2019t-deserve-me\u201d mentality. Others said they missed moments with loved ones.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pakbet listens to a talk on safety in sanctuary cities during an FAJ informational session for caregivers and their community. \u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Along with other caregivers in this story, KQED is referring to Pakbet only by a nickname to allow them to speak openly about their mental health struggles and working conditions without jeopardizing their employment.<\/p>\n

Pakbet understands the impulse to return home. Still, he said he was feeling especially tender.<\/p>\n

His \u201clifeline,\u201d FAJ\u2019s worker organizer and seasoned activist Santi Tagle Buensuceso, had announced that she was also returning to her homeland.<\/p>\n

Whenever Pakbet struggled, instead of crying alone, he\u2019d call Tagle Buensuceso. Sometimes, he\u2019d voice his doubts about his ability to be a provider: \u201cAm I a good father? Am I doing OK? Do I need to go back to the Philippines?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She would assure him that trying his best was good enough, that he was a great father and husband. She also realized caregivers like Pakbet needed more outlets and two years ago suggested FAJ host monthly Kapwa Circles for the wider community. A third space to unwind, to reflect, to create joy. Kapwa<\/a>, a Filipino value meaning interconnectedness, the recognition of yourself in each other.<\/p>\n

\"\"Community members practice a breathing and movement exercise as Santi Tagle Buensuceso reads a farewell card signed by the Filipino Advocates for Justice community during a surprise party held a week before her return to the Philippines.\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED)<\/p>\n

\"\"Pakbet, right, says goodbye to Tagle Buensuceso during her surprise farewell party. To Pakbet, Tagle Buensuceso was like an older sister, someone who always looked out for and advocated for him.\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED)<\/p>\n

On a Friday evening in March, the young and old came together at FAJ\u2019s Union City office to recreate a slice of the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Fried chicken from Jollibee piled high on paper plates, the sounds of people speaking Tagalog could be heard. Outside, a community garden where calamansi, a citrus fruit native to the Philippines, had been harvested for a jar of juice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The event is what FAJ leadership describes as a \u201cFilipino family party\u201d or a Kapwa Circle.\u00a0 It has a different flavor each month and begins with a discussion of a social justice topic \u2014 sanctuary cities, for one, or voter registration \u2014 to invite people into FAJ\u2019s organizing work. After the community conversation, they host an activity like bingo or mahjong. Always karaoke, whether planned or not. There is a rule of no chisme, but many will say gossip is their favorite part.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"People dance the Pinoy Cha-Cha during the March Kapwa Circle at the offices of Filipino Advocates for Justice in Union City, California.\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED)<\/p>\n

\"\"Left: Cristy Ferrer, a Filipino Advocates for Justice organizer, left, and Ine, caregiver and FAJ worker leader, lead a Pinoy Cha-Cha dance lesson. Right: Ine dances with another community member during the Kapwa Circle.\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED)<\/p>\n

The evening was Tagle Buensuceso\u2019s last circle. Pakbet was there, drawn to a space where he could laugh and smile naturally. \u201cI don\u2019t need to fake it,\u201d he said. He must leave early, however, to care for a client. Pakbet is now a certified nurse assistant and works hourly one-on-one with clients, but stability has been elusive lately. Clients have entered hospital care or passed away. With fewer hours, he has no choice.<\/p>\n

For now, he joined in celebrating Tagle Buensuceso. As a surprise, staff handed out printed lyrics of her favorite song, \u201cPrecious and Few\u201d by the band Climax. Ine, a fellow caregiver worker leader, grabbed her guitar. She led the group for a sing-along to the \u201970s soft-rock song about cherishing moments, and the metaphor was not lost.<\/p>\n

A mother of three, Ine came solo to the U.S. 15 years ago to provide her children a good college education, and has lived and worked at a care home ever since. As the home\u2019s cook, Ine, 63, plates green pesto pasta and other colorful food with the intention to appeal to her dementia patients. She also administers medicine, having gone back to school to become a pharmacy technician, graduating with honors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said she talks with her husband and children via video every night, but misses them the most on holidays and birthdays.<\/p>\n

Back in her room at the care home, she filled a balikbayan box for her son\u2019s 41st birthday.<\/p>\n

She lovingly selected Lacoste polo shirts, Ferrero Rocher chocolate and other items for the care package by hand, a proxy for her presence.<\/p>\n

\"\"Caregivers, community members and staff of Filipino Advocates for Justice pose for portraits in the garden near a calamansi tree cared for by staff and harvested by caregivers for their food. Some chose gestures of wellness to express in their portraits. \u201cThere\u2019s such a deep, immense healing power that caregivers have,\u201d said Daisy Maxion, FAJ organizing director. \u201cThey remind us of what it means to be human.\u201d\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Every month, she makes sure she has time off for the Kapwa Circle. When she is tired, when the monotony of caregiving is grueling, she said being with other caregivers at FAJ and, better, using her musical talent to entertain, gives her the \u201cstrength to work for another day.\u201d<\/p>\n

This evening, Ine passed the mic to Tagle Buensuceso, who said that before FAJ, she believed cigarettes were the only form of wellness. She left the group with one last piece of wisdom. \u201cIf you don\u2019t take care of yourself, you can\u2019t take care of your community.\u201d Pakbet clapped. The music began.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hands linked and people moved to the Cupid Shuffle, the Macarena, the Pinoy Cha-Cha. Ine was in her element, her first love, dance. The food whittled down. When a delivery worker stopped by to drop off more Spam musubi, she was met with a chorus of: \u201cStay. Take a plate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Left: A community member of Filipino Advocates for Justice holds a flower in her hand as she poses in front of a backdrop. \u201cIf you\u2019re able to breathe deeply and freely, if you\u2019re able to sit with difficult emotions, if you\u2019re able to get regular sleep and eat food that has some nutrition in it \u2026 you\u2019re leaving room for creativity and imagination and the courage to reach out,\u201d said Karen Villanueva, executive director of Kilusan Wellness. \u201cNervous system regulation allows us to really know who we are.\u201d Right: Two attendees wear Filipiniana dresses as they fill ttheir plates during a Kapwa Circle potluck.\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED)<\/p>\n

There is power in knowing others share similar experiences, said Dr. Annalisa Enrile, a Filipina community organizer and professor at the USC School of Social Work.<\/p>\n

Enrile has researched how communal care in Filipino immigrant communities<\/a> that draws on cultural practices can ease stress and improve mental well-being. \u201cIf you feel like you belong in a way that gives you agency, and reduces stigma,\u201d she said, \u201cthen you\u2019re more apt to ask for help.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

FAJ\u2019s leaders, too, realized belonging was a way to build trust and encourage caregivers to open up, and it\u2019s why they have prioritized connection as the heart of their programming. Recently, they were relieved to hear they received one year of bridge funding to bring back their mental health specialist as they figure out how to sustain their wellness and mental health services. A temporary bandage, executive director Geraldine Alcid said, but enough to keep going.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Ine near the San Francisco Bay, where she likes to go and recharge when she has time.\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Despite the funding uncertainty, the group is sustained by a deep hope: Show up, and something might shift.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pakbet wasn\u2019t sure if he\u2019d come back to FAJ when Tagle Buensuceso left. He decided to keep showing up anyway, without a community elsewhere. Later that spring, he attended a picnic for caregivers at Contra Loma Regional Park in Contra Costa County. The stillness of the oak-tree-dotted hills contrasted with the chaos of the last few months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of his male clients was in the hospital, which meant Pakbet was not being paid to take care of him and was spending too much time alone at home in his apartment. He nearly missed a rent payment until he reached out to FAJ to help.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Pakbet, center, joins other caregivers and staff of Filipino Advocates for Justice under the shade of a tree at Contra Loma Regional Park in Antioch for an annual picnic\u2013an opportunity to connect with caregivers from across the Bay Area and enjoy nature. Caregivers practiced wellness stretching, shared food and reenacted moments from caregiving through a \u201cTheater of the Oppressed\u201d activity.\u00a0(Florence Middleton for Catchlight\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Grateful for people, for peaceful nature, he set up his phone on a tripod to document the picnic. The wind was gentle. The wetlands glassy. A duck swam by and Pakbet paused to look at it, reminding him of balut, a delicacy with roots in his mother\u2019s province.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The caregivers took turns sharing their favorite stretch before acting out a scripted scene from Theater of the Oppressed, an approach that uses roleplay to explore solutions to social problems. Pakbet assumed the role of a care home owner. Drawing from his own experience, he joked about doling out \u201cexpensive\u201d perfume from the Dollar Tree instead of actual dollars for overtime. People burst out laughing.<\/p>\n

Pakbet reflected afterward and said he has never felt more anchored in his purpose to empower caregivers like himself. Next outreach, when he knocks on doors, before asking about rights, before handing them a booklet, he will first ask, \u201cHow are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was made possible in part by the Aging Beat workshop, convened by the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This project was produced jointly by KQED and CatchLight as part of the mental health visual desk initiative.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-466707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}