Danny

It’s been a little over five months since the LIA 2016 graduation. As I reflect on my experience in the LIA program, I’ve been very fortunate and privileged to have been a part of the program. Through the program, I’ve met many inspirational people, built professional networks, and made lifelong friends. Going into the program, I did not know what to expect. Being a second generation Hmong American man and the first in my family to graduate from college; moving out of Fresno, CA was a very foreign experience to me. Initially, I had doubts about my qualifications and what I had to offer to the program but through the support of LEAP staff and my amazing LIA cohort, I realized I did belong and I was enough. My LIA 2016 cohort provided emotional support and empowered me to be the best version of myself. Over the course of 8 weeks, my LIA cohort became family.

This week, I turned in my Chinatown traffic survey report. I am humbled have had the opportunity to advocate for Chinatown community members. Through my report, I want to acknowledge the many individuals who are affected by pedestrian safety issues in Chinatown. I also hope that my report can serve as a platform for the voices of Chinatown community members because too often they are overlooked.

(Above are the combined number of traffic violations on Broadway & Ord and Broadway & Alpine)

This week, I attended a press conference for the launch of the API Health Initiative’s Rethink Your Asian Drink Campaign. The press conference took place on the top of the steps of LA County + USC Medical Center. It was my first time at a press conference for the purpose of bringing awareness to and launching a campaign. Many members of the health initiative and local media stations were present at the press conference. 

(Scott Chan speaking to the attendees)

Though there have been attempts to address obesity and other related diseases through campaigns like Rethink Your Drink, there has not been a culturally relevant campaign that informs AAPI communities about the sugar contents in their Asian drinks.  Rethink Your Asian Drink educates and informs API folks about the sugar content in Asian drinks, in hopes that everyone will make better informed decisions about their health.

After collecting the all necessary data through observing traffic violations in Chinatown, I spent the earlier part of this week analyzing the data and here’s a little snippet: There was a total of 776 recorded traffic violations at both observing locations. The data shows varying number of violations at the two intersections. Broadway and Ord had 52% (174) of motorists failing to properly yield to pedestrians, while Broadway and Alpine only had 32% (141).

Next week, I will finalize the report to supplement APIOPA’s plan to build support for structural changes in Chinatown LA to improve pedestrian safety and access.

This Thursday, was also LEAP’s Leadership Awards Gala. It was amazing to see the breadth of LEAP’s networks and I commend LEAP for bringing together API leaders from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. I also had rich conversations with many folks from various sectors, who held prestigious positions.  

(Above is a photo of me with some folks from APIOPA. From left to right: Paul Nguyen, Danny Yang, Kyle Tsukahira, Scott Chan)

(Above is a photo of the amazing 2016 LIA Cohort!)

For the first two days of this week, I stood on the Northeast corner of Broadway and Alpine in Chinatown Los Angeles, equipped with my clipboard and shades, and recorded traffic violations for an hour each day. I had to withstand the unpleasant heat, as well as the suspicious stares from people walking by but I actually enjoyed the experience. I hope that through recording motorists’ driving behaviors and assessing pedestrian safety, my research would be able to help shed light on the safety issues faced by pedestrians in Chinatown.

Next week, I will be done with data collection and will begin compiling the report.

(above is a photo of a motorist blocking the crosswalk) Later on in the week, I attended the Asian and Pacific Islander Health Summit, which was coordinated by the API health initiative to address health disparities and myths within the API community in Los Angeles. Here is some background on why the API summit was held: The Los Angeles County Department of Health (LADPH) recently did a report on the health status of LA County called the Community Health Assessment plan and used the report to come up with a strategic plan for improving health in LA county called the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). LADPH compiled the report through holding regional stakeholder meetings but didn’t do a very good job of outreaching to API communities. As a result, API health advocates voiced that the CHA and CHIP wasn’t inclusive of API communities and did not address the disparate health issues within API communities. As a result, API health advocates and community organizations came together to form the API health initiative. The API health initiative held the health summit with the goal of having conversations about health issues in API communities, in order to come up with key strategies to present to LADPH. The API health summit had four breakout sessions for different health issues and I participated in the Reduce Smoking, 2nd Hand Smoke, and eCigarettes breakout session.

(statistics from the Reduce Smoking, 2nd Hand Smoke, and eCigarettes session)

Throughout the session, I learned what community advocates were currently doing in LA county to make it more difficult for tobacco companies to target API communities. There was also discussion about the lack of data on the usage of eCigarettes among college students. All in all, participants in the session came up with three key strategies to present to LADPH:

Chinatown traffic observations were under way. This week, my observations took place on the intersection of Broadway and Alpine and next week, I will alternate back to observe traffic on Broadway and Ord.

(Above is a motorist making a right turn from the wrong lane)

(Motorist not properly yielding for pedestrians & approaching traffic)

(traffic congestion on westbound Alpine) Here is the sheet that was used to record traffic violations:

Friday was packed with back to back workshops about public speaking and interviewing techniques. Through the public speaking workshop, I learned that mastering the skill of public speaking can elevate my career and personal life. I also discovered that I tend to say “umm” a lot but the workshop facilitator gave me some tips on how to eliminate my tendencies. Additionally, during the interview workshop, I practiced using the Challenge, Action, Result (CAR) technique to quantify my work experience.

For the first half of this week, I went out to collect data in Chinatown LA through observing and noting common traffic violations. APIOPA recently did some community surveys with folks in Chinatown LA and found that many of the community members saw pedestrian safety as a major concern. I was eager to see the situation in Chinatown for myself. 

(Above is a motorist not properly yielding for pedestrians crossing on Broadway and Ord) In Chinatown, I saw many motorists not properly yielding for pedestrians and other motorists. Many drivers were making turns without allowing ample room for pedestrians to cross safely, as well as, running red lights in order to make unprotected left turns. I gained a better understanding of why Chinatown community members were concerned about pedestrian safety and as a result, I had a newfound appreciation for the work that APIOPA is doing with API communities. 

On Thursday morning, I went to Lennox for the Asian American Environmental Academy, which is a program that APIOPA coordinates in collaboration with Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council (A3PCON). In the academy program, youth learn about environmental justice and how they can advocate for healthier environments. It was great to see high school and college students learn about how particulate matter in the atmosphere could be hazardous to their health. For this particular session, the students used an instrument to measure particulate matter waste from aircraft. Particulate matter waste from aircraft emissions negatively affect the environment. The Los Angeles International Airport is right next to Lennox, so airplanes would fly over every 10-15 minutes, with many of the airplanes flying over residential areas. As a result, many residents in Lennox are breathing in harmful particulate matter without having a say in the matter. It was inspiring to see youth learn about the environment and importance of preserving green spaces for ourselves and our future generations.

(Above is an aircraft flying over Lennox park) Thursday night was also the Faith Advisory Board (FAB) meeting. FAB is a program under APIOPA that brings together the Tongan community from all around Los Angeles in order to foster leadership and learning in a safe space. It was humbling to attend FAB and learn more about the Tongan and Samoan cultures. The participants were very welcoming and made me feel right at home. Through FAB, I learned how food and family were an integral part of the Tongan and Samoan cultures. Additionally, I got to eat some traditional Tongan food and it was delicious! 

Nyob Zoo (Hello in Hmong) friends, family, and anyone else who happens to stumble upon this blog. Just a little update about my LIA 2016 Internship in Los Angeles:

I’ve completed my first week at APIOPA (Asian Pacific Islander Obesity Prevention Alliance). Scott Chan, the program director for APIOPA, is my CBO supervisor and he’s been very supportive and flexible with my schedule.

On my first day, Scott introduced me to the China Town Road Diet project, which is a project where APIOPA is partnering with API communities and other community organizations to ask the city to convert some streets in China town into a Road Diet. A Road Diet is a technique where the number of travel lanes and/or width of the road is reduced in order to include adequate room for bike lanes and systematic improvements. A research study from the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) showed that almost 66% of pedestrian crashes occur on just 6% of the city streets in Los Angeles.  Many of those dangerous streets are located in API ethnic enclaves. As a result, APIOPA is advocating for safer streets in China town because many city officials tend to not include China town in talks about improving public safety and health.

(This heat map shows the network of dangerous streets in LA China town) Another intern, Molly, and I were given the task of researching and developing our own methodology to measure common traffic violations on the intersections of Broadway/Alpine and Broadway/Ord in Los Angeles China town. Next week, Molly and I will go to China town and collect data on common traffic violations by observing traffic during peak hours. I’m excited to collect the data and see what the results will be. It has been great to see how APIOPA is creatively addressing access to healthy foods and the issues of environmental justice.

On my fourth day, I also attended an Empowerment Congress Environmental Justice committee meeting at the University of Southern California because Scott wasn’t able to go. It was great to learn more about environmental justice and to see passionate community members, organizations, and city officials come together to address that issue.

Today concludes my first week of participating in LEAP’s LIA 2016 summer internship.

My name is Danny Yang and I recently graduated from California State University, Fresno with my Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a certificate in Cross-Cultural Competency. My journey to Los Angeles has been full of various emotions ranging from anxiety to excitement. I’ve never been to Los Angeles before, so being immersed in the city has been very eye-opening and awe-inspiring. Though I’ve only been in LA for a few weeks, LA has treated me well and I’m excited to learn more about the people, the cultures, and the rich history.

I’m very grateful to be a part of LEAP’s LIA Summer 2016 internship. I applied to LIA because I wanted to cultivate my skills in organizing communities and building collective power. I saw that my community in Fresno was lacking many resources and I wanted to do something about it.

My LIA peers are an amazing group of inspiring individuals. Each of them have very unique experiences and I’m humbled to be able to learn from them about the various AAPI communities that they come from.