Social justice activists who’ve wanted to help Filipinos have traditionally gravitated toward well-known communities near downtown L.A., Carson, Cerritos and other cities. But some Gen Z Filipinos are going straight to the San Fernando Valley, a lesser known enclave where people also need help.
I talked to two of them, Rica Roque and Gigi Gonzales-Palmer, at the Panorama Woodman Center, a strip mall where businesses are now mostly owned by Filipinos. Around us, bakeries and markets were selling prepared Filipino dishes and imported products from the Philippines.
Roque is the secretary general of Migrante San Fernando Valley, a group that works with migrant workers and their families. The local branch opened in June this year.
“A huge part of the work that we do is getting to know them, getting to know their stories, their struggles, their conditions,” he said…