Asian American Pacific Islander Month: Angela Edward Shares Voices of Micronesians
At Brio Living Services, we are proud to recognize Asian American Pacific Islander Month in May. In particular, we spotlight Angela Edward, LMSW, social worker at Thome PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly), for her work in sharing the voices of Pacific Islanders.
Angela grew up in Jackson, Michigan, and her father and his family are from the Federated States of Micronesia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Angela began telling the stories of Micronesians.
“I love podcasts and always said I wanted to do one,” says Angela. “I started during the pandemic while everyone was sheltering in place. It was easy to get people to talk to me. I started in May 2020, during Asian American Pacific Islander Month, and called it ‘Thirty Days with Thirty Micronesians.’ I interviewed people I knew, including my family and friends I grew up with. I made an Instagram page, and a lot of people started following it. I’ve been doing the podcasts ever since.”
In 2020, Brooklyn filmmaker, Nathan Fitch reached out to Angela to suggest a partnership. The result is “In Exile” which Angela and Nathan co-produced. This eleven-minute documentary, part of a PBS series, Reel South, follows the story of migrants from the Marshall Islands who, in 1946, were asked to leave their home in Bikini Atoll by the United States in order to conduct nuclear testing. Many settled in Springdale, Arkansas. Each year they commemorate the 1946 bombing of their island, the first of 67 atomic bombs dropped on the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958.
“It’s a piece of American history that we never learn about in school,” says Angela. “I hope this film will help to amplify both Marshall Island and American history.”
Asian American Pacific Islander Month is important to Angela. “Asia is so vast with so many cultures. Pacific Islanders often get overlooked. So I have made it a personal mission to help raise awareness during the month to raise Pacific Islander voices and acknowledge Pacific Islanders’ presence in our culture.”
Angela’s Pacific Islander background has had a big impact on her career as a social worker. “In Micronesian culture, we take care of elders as a family,” Angela explains. “So being a social worker at Thome PACE is a true testament to honor and serve our community. It really aligns with my culture and career identity.”
The concept of PACE actually has its roots in the Asian American culture of San Francisco’s Chinatown-North Beach community. There was a need for long-term care services among families whose elders had immigrated from China, the Philippines, and Italy, according to Huron Valley PACE Executive Director, Sonja Love Felton, LMSW, MPA, who also serves on both the PACE Association of Michigan and the National PACE Association Board of Directors.
“PACE programs across the country owe a debt of gratitude to the Asian community in San Francisco for its ingenuity in caring for elders,” says Sonja. “In 1971, these community leaders formed the nonprofit On Lok (Cantonese for “peaceful, happy abode”) Senior Health Services to create a community-based system of care. PACE is here today, helping nursing-home eligible older adults to live independently in their homes and communities, because of the innovation and perseverance of Asian Americans in bringing their vision to life.”
Brio Living Services is one of Michigan’s leading providers of PACE services with five sites statewide, serving approximately 1,300 older adults annually. Learn more about Brio’s PACE programs or consider a career you’ll love at Brio Living Services.