The Southeast Asian American wellness report from SEARAC, the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, makes a plain argument: wellness in these communities is shared, multigenerational and built outside the exam room. Weaving Wellness: Intergenerational Insights from Southeast Asian American Communities draws on interviews and focus groups with more than 150 participants across the country, and it puts elders and the organizations that serve them at the center of the picture.

Per SEARAC's own announcement, the report is its latest research on what wellness means to Southeast Asian American (SEAA) communities, and it arrives with recommendations for policymakers and service providers. Here is what the organization says it found, and why the timing matters.

What does the Southeast Asian American wellness report say?

SEARAC describes the report as a "community-defined vision of wellness that reflects the experiences of multiple generations." Its central finding is that SEAA wellness is multidimensional, communal and shared, not something an individual pursues alone.

According to SEARAC, the practices people described often differ from traditional Western medicine. The examples the organization names are handstitching story cloths, gardening, communal gatherings and community advocacy. Wellness, in the report's telling, centers on connection with family, with community and with the organizations that serve the community.

  • Wellness is communal. It is described as shared across family and community, not only personal.
  • Practice differs from Western medicine. Story cloth stitching, gardening and advocacy count.
  • Generational differences can hinder connection. SEARAC says gaps between generations in wellness practices can make it harder for families to connect.
  • Community organizations are critical. SEAA-serving community-based organizations help combat loneliness and isolation among elders.

Who produced the research?

SEARAC says the report was produced in partnership with five SEAA community-based organizations and a Community Advisory Board. The report page does not name the five organizations, so we are not listing them here. The principal investigators are Dr. Jacqueline Mac and Dr. Varaxy Yi Borromeo, according to SEARAC's announcement. The research was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Participants came from SEAA communities across the country. The 150-plus participant figure comes from SEARAC's announcement; the report's resource page, which links the full PDF and a digital zine, does not state a count.

Why are elders at the center of this story?

The short answer: because loneliness and isolation among elders are named as problems that community-based organizations are already working to solve, and because SEARAC says elders face mounting pressure from outside the community as well.

SEARAC Executive Director Quyen Dinh said the community faces increased threats to its wellness and existence. In SEARAC's announcement, she cites a "20x increase in the deportation of SEAA elders" over the past 18 months. That figure is Dinh's statement as reported by SEARAC; the sources we reviewed do not include supporting data, and SEARAC's report page does not repeat it. Treat it as her characterization until the underlying numbers are published.

Dinh also argued the answer includes "holistic investment in SEAA health and wellbeing." That framing connects the report's cultural findings to a funding and policy question: if wellness lives in story cloth circles, community gardens and neighborhood organizations, then those are the places services need to reach.

What does it mean for health and community organizations?

For anyone building programs, media or services for Southeast Asian American audiences, the report is a reminder to meet people where they already gather. The community-defined approach SEARAC describes treats a gardening group or a story cloth workshop as wellness infrastructure, not a side activity.

The generational finding deserves attention too. SEARAC says differences in wellness practices across generations can hinder connection, which suggests that programming linking elders and younger family members may do more than programming aimed at either group alone. That is our reading of the finding, not a claim from the report.

SEARAC lists recommendations for policymakers and service providers on SEAA intergenerational wellness, and a recording of the virtual launch event is available on its YouTube channel. Read the full coverage and the report directly at SEARAC's Weaving Wellness page and the SEARAC announcement.

Reporting here is based on SEARAC's published materials. 88tumble has not independently reviewed the full report PDF.