Harjit Kaur, 66, found out about the Khalsa Community Center through a friend. A Sikh originally from the northern Indian state of Punjab, she now resides in Fresno, California, with her family. She was surprised to learn about a space in her city where Sikh seniors like her could participate in events and form community.
Like many South Asian seniors in multi-generational households, Harjit Kaur lives with her adult children and grandchildren, in keeping with longstanding cultural traditions. But when family members leave each day for work or school, or to run errands, it leaves Harjit Kaur alone at home, feeling isolated.Her isolation is exacerbated because Harjit Kaur, like many Sikh seniors, faces a language barrier: she speaks fluent Punjabi, but not English. So, despite the familiarity of a secure family setting, excursions outside the home and navigating life in a new country become particularly challenging for her as a non-native English speaker.
According to Prableen Kaur, Executive Director of the Khalsa Foundation California (KFC), seniors like Harjit Kaur are often alone at home, creating an epidemic of loneliness within the community. Prableen is the driving force behind the community center, founded in July 2024 to provide services, educational support, and culturally rooted programs for the Punjabi Sikh community…