Midori Shimanouchi Lederer founded Japanese American Social Services, Inc. (JASSI) in 1981 to address the lack of social services for aging Japanese Americans with limited English language skills. JASSI quickly expanded to assist Japanese restaurant workers, students, recent immigrants, and those in need of counseling or other referral services in the New York area. Today, JASSI continues to provide bilingual support services related to immigration, healthcare, housing, and other social services.
The JASSI Records contain administrative files, publicity materials, photographs, and documentation of JASSI’s numerous workshops and events. These records offer a rich demographic and social-historical portrait of New York’s post-war Japanese American community.
To learn more about the contents of the Japanese American Social Services, Inc. Records, located at the NYU Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, view the collection’s finding aid.