Hello,

My name is Julie and I’m here to ask help for my mom, Snooks. For an update on the latest info, please see “Urgency of Funds*” and “In Closing*”. If you are visiting for the first time, please continue reading as I share my mom’s journey and the urgency of help needed.

Overview

Snooks is in serious need of help as she is being evicted from her assisted living home. As the primary caregiver for her husband who had Alzheimer’s for over 10 years (and she herself, later diagnosed with a milder Alzheimer’s), Snooks sold her home for financial stability after her husband passed away in 2011. Afterward, a conflict with her family Trust resulted in Snooks losing control of her Trust to a third-party fiduciary. With substantial losses from litigation, as well as years of legal, fiduciary, and care costs for Snooks, the Trust is completely exhausted and now closed. The litigation settlement and fallout thereafter has left Snooks with nothing to provide for her housing or care.

Internment Camp Incarceration

The cover photo at the top of the page is from a contest in which Snooks entered and won “Miss Heart Mountain, Most Beautiful Pin-Up Girl”, back in 1945 when she was 19 years old. Although a highlight from her younger years, it is still difficult to perceive that in 1942 at just 17 years old, she was one of more than 120,000 people of Japanese descent that were incarcerated in U.S. internment camps.

Snooks and her family gave up their home and business where they farmed, their car, everything they owned. With just the clothes on their back and one suitcase allowed per person, they left to be transported to their designated internment camp of Heart Mountain in Wyoming, where they remained for 3 years until the bombing of Hiroshima (her parents’ origin) and Nagasaki, Japan, ending WWII.

A Life-Threatening Experience

In February 2021 at age 95 in the midst of the Covid lockdown, Snooks suffered a severe stroke. The right side of her body from head to toe was left partially paralyzed. Bedridden, unable to walk or eat solid food, the doctors said she may not last another 6 months and she was released into hospice. Life for Snooks changed drastically from being “fully independent” for nearly 8 years in an assisted living facility, to being fully “dependent” in a heartbeat.

The obstacles she had to overcome seemed nearly impossible. But fast forward to now, with proper care, a lot of hard work and some very helpful therapists, Snooks graduated from hospice and moved on to start anew in the assisted living facility where she lives now. This truly feels like a miracle!

Urgency of Funds*

Snooks must leave her home by September 30. With no other current options or places available for Snooks to live, now more than ever, any help offered would mean everything to Snooks.

With a higher level of care and expenses since Snooks’ stroke, assisted living rent with care costs are upwards of $8,000/mo. Eldercare is very expensive, and as housing and care costs continue to rise, Snooks will be unable to continue in an assisted living facility with her limited social security and pension. In evaluating local rates, the $50K goal is an estimate in finding Snooks a new/temporary place to live, while waitlist availability opens up for more affordable housing.

In caregiving for both my parents for more than 20 years and as Snooks’ primary caregiver, I will ensure all donations made will provide for Snooks’ housing and care.

In Closing*

While thriving in her assisted living community enjoying bingo, exercise classes and cheering on her Golden State Warriors and SF 49ers, as you can see in the photo above, Snooks still looks more than 20+ years younger than she actually is. Everyone who meets Snooks adores her (and her nickname), and with her charm and witty sense of humor, you’ll never meet anyone sweeter or more endearing than Snooks, aka, “Miss Heart Mountain”.

As one of the last remaining survivors of Japanese internment camps, after all the losses and challenges she has overcome, it would be devastating for Snooks to have her home taken away again.

Snooks recently had a birthday celebrating 98 years around the sun and she hopes to live out her life safe and sound in a proper home. If you or someone you know would like to make a donation, or if anyone knows any immediate openings in rentals, in-law cottages, or any affordable housing, please know how much your help means to Snooks and how truly grateful she is. Feel free to message me with any possibilities or info on housing availability.

Thank you for your caring support in helping Snooks during this urgent and incredibly difficult time of need.

Julie (for Snooks)