Velma Yemoto

Velma Yemoto was one of the very first practical support volunteers with Asian and Pacific Islander AIDS Coalition (APAC) and Gay Asian Pacific Alliance Community HIV Project (GCHP) and was a wonderful support person for Terry, Rico, Steven, and several other people with AIDS in the 1990’s. She generously hosted the volunteer meetings at her 60’s modern-style home for several years, and always made salad and roasted chicken for us. Velma was always moved by the people she helped. In the volunteer meetings, she would get teary when talking about her experience, giving the rest of us catalyst to grieve. There were two People With AIDS that she continued to help long after they were no longer clients of our program and she was no longer an official volunteer. Velma was a part of the organization’s family, coming to events, and dutifully calling the agency its appropriate name through all the changes – APAC, GCHP, Living Well Project, then A&PI Wellness Center. Velma’s impact was so grieved because she was involved early on. Velma’s example made it ‘OK’ for others in the A&PI community to get involved in HIV. She connected us to Pine Methodist Church, a primarily Japanese American congregation, and had them raise money for the direct support program. She spoke at her congregation as an HIV educator, and later in support of the church becoming a welcoming congregation to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) communities.

To many young GLBT volunteers, Velma offered a sense of acceptance that they did not have in their own family. This encouraged many people in the volunteer group to become active in the community, to come out to their families, to become involved in fighting HIV and GLBT stigma in the A&PI community. I think Velma did much of this from her compassionate heart, and her understanding and commitment to social justice. She had a long history of volunteering in other issues, and she always linked her personal experience of being Japanese American during WWII as a touchstone for her work with others.

About 5 years ago, Velma was getting frail and her family asked her to move to Fresno. I lost contact with her, but just saw her obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle. It brought back a lot of memories of her and reminded me of how much hope and encouragement she instilled in me by being a part of the work, and a part of my life.”

Steve Lew, Former Executive Director of Living Well Project (predecessor agency of Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center)