Cultural Roots and Leadership

Youth economic advancement

Central LA

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

The neighborhood of Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles remains a predominantly immigrant neighborhood, with a large majority (63%) being foreign born, with 66% being Latinx, and another 25% being Asian, and of which 64% are Filipino. Over a third (38%) of households are linguistically isolated, over twice the level for the County. The poverty rate of is 26%, is over 1.5 times that of the County’s rate of 16% (UCLA, Asian American Studies Center). 92% of households in Historic Filipinotown are renters, with the median annual income being $26,700 (LA Times). With recent years of increased development, Historic Filipinotown and its residents face unaffordability and displacement. The collective power of residents to uncover root causes and develop solutions to address these issues has not been fully leveraged. SIPA, as a legacy organization with over 50 years serving youth and families, will build on its existing programming to include participatory action research and advocacy.

SIPA's Cultural Roots and Leadership department engages youth through cultural enrichment activities, centering mental and overall well-being, while building their collective power and leadership to address issues in their community. Offerings within this department include the following:
-Cultural enrichment: Activities including Filipino martial arts, cooking, cultural dance, music, arts and language classes
-Walang Hiya/ Rising Above Shame/Summer of Healing: Mental health program for teens to destigmatize mental health, explore cultural aspects that impact perspectives toward mental health and skill building around coping and accessing resources for help
-Filipino Summer Program: Summer program for youth 6-13 that builds community, affirms identity and provides artistic engagement toward understanding Philippines/Filipino American culture, history, community and experiences
-Youth Council: Leadership program that builds on three years of Stop the Hate racial justice solidarity efforts for teens and young adults, and introduced advocacy to this newly formed body, focused on State budget advocacy to sustain funding for continued Stop the Hate efforts
-Summer Youth Participatory Action Research: Focused on Historic Filipinotown, SIPA will partner with Historic Filipinotown-based urban planning firm KDI on a summer participatory action research project exploring the impacts of displacement for multi-generational residents and small business owners in the neighborhood

Historic Filipinotown will have a base of youth and residents who actively seek to address present-day issues that have been evolving due to impacts of the pandemic, the fires, political climate and gentrification. The goal of SIPA, in partnership with HiFi Coalition, other legacy organizations and youth leaders, is to begin to build the collective power and develop a cohesive voice for residents of Historic Filipinotown that is multi-racial/ethnic, that honors the tradition of people power that has started by Filipino American leaders historically, and leverages the many assets of the community. Historic Filipinotown will have a multi-generational base of local leaders who understand the challenges unique to HiFi and who have the knowledge and skills to collectively develop strategies and solutions to address these issues that impact their own lives.