Japanese Canadian Survivors Health & Wellness Fund
Welcome to the Japanese Canadian Survivors Health & Wellness Fund, a program created to distribute health support grants to assist individual Survivors with their health care needs. Survivors will be assisted by Outreach Workers across Canada, who will facilitate the online submission of applications when the application portal opens on this website.
There will be two grants:
1) The first grant will be for Survivors who did not receive the initial one-time grant of $650 from the Survivors Fund of 2021.
2) The second grant will support Survivors with their health support needs.
The JCSHWF office is working hard under new operations leadership to have funding applications open by the beginning of 2024. We thank our seniors for their patience.
Who is eligible for this Fund?
The Japanese Canadian Survivor Health and Wellness Fund (JCSHWF) provides individual health support grants for Japanese Canadian Survivors impacted by the decisions and actions of the BC Government between March 7, 1941 and April 1, 1949.
Who is a Survivor?
A living person of Japanese descent born prior to April 1, 1949 who was directly impacted by BC Government actions in the 1940s. Survivors include persons who were not displaced but were living in BC, and persons who, after their families left BC, were born prior to April 1, 1949, which was the day Japanese Canadians were given full voting rights and the legal restrictions used to control the movement of Japanese Canadians were removed.
Background to this Fund
British Columbia Government policies prior to, during, and after World War II resulted in the forced removal of nearly 22,000 Japanese Canadians from their homes on the West Coast, and their displacement, confinement, and permanent dispossession. The majority were born in Canada.
Overnight, lives were shattered and entire communities eradicated. Japanese Canadians trusted they would one day return to their homes. Instead, their properties and possessions were sold without their consent.
Following the end of the war in 1945, restrictions prevented Japanese Canadians from returning to the coast. The government offered Japanese Canadians two choices: relocate east of the Rockies or face deportation to Japan. The restrictions were lifted in 1949, but many never returned. Those that did had nothing to return to.
On May 21, 2022, the BC Government acknowledged the historical wrongs perpetuated against Japanese Canadians in BC during the 1940s and made a pledge to support a 2019-2022 community built $100 million legacy initiatives package recommended by the National Association of Japanese Canadians BC Redress Project and administered by the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society (JCLS).
The Japanese Canadian Survivors Health and Wellness Fund Society (JCSHWFS) operates the fund, under the umbrella of the JCLS. The JCSHWFS will be distributing $28 million in the form of two health support grants for individual Japanese Canadian survivors of the BC Government’s actions (1942 -1949). The JCSHWFS has a Canada-wide, regionally representative Board that includes community members who work with seniors.
Frequently Asked Questions
I was not forcibly displaced to an internment camp during the 1940s, am I still eligible to apply?
According to our Survivor definition, Survivors do not have to have been in an internment camp to qualify. They may have been sent to self-supporting camps, road camps, or POW camps, already lived somewhere else in BC outside the 100-mile radius, were sent to sugar beets farms out of province, were born outside of BC after their family left BC, or repatriated to Japan, etc.
How much money can I expect from the two grants?
Grant 1 is $650. It is intended for those who did not receive the grant in 2021. Grant 2 is $4,500 to help with individual health support needs.
When and how can I apply for these grants?
We are working hard to get the pieces in place to open, but the application process is not open yet. It will be open early in 2024. The application process will be online with available support.
I received a grant in 2021. Do I have to reapply for Grant 2?
You will need to complete a new application and reapply for Grant 2. Thank you for your understanding.
I received an amount less than $650 from the 2021 JCSHWF initiative. Am I entitled to receive the difference?
Yes, however you will not need to apply for the balance. The balance owing will be topped up by our staff.
I did not apply for the 2021 JCSHWF Funding, can I apply for it during this upcoming initiative?
Yes.
During the first JCSHWF initiative in 2021, we could apply for wellness-related activities such as bowling league fees or fees related to participating in activities offered by the residence in which I'm living. Is this still the case?
No. For this second round of funding, grants are meant to offset out-of-pocket healthcare needs. If you are interested in funding for projects related to trauma or intergenerational issues, please see the Intergenerational Wellness stream of the Japanese Canadian Legacies website. https://jclegaciesfund.com/funding-streams/intergenerational-wellness or contact community@jclegacies.com.