By Joyce Li, 2025 CLA Intern
Potrero Heights Park Community and Senior Center
On July 29th, I headed to the San Gabriel Valley district office in South El Monte to assist one of the field deputies, Pablo Morales, with tabling at one of the County’s community/senior centers. Tabling is one of the core responsibilities of field office staff in order to learn more about issues impacting the community, assist community members in resolving issues, and sharing updates with what is happening in the County. It is also a great opportunity to become ingrained in the community and garner familiarity with the Supervisor.
Upon arrival, I immediately saw a large gathering of elderly socializing outside. I learned from the staff that Tuesdays and Thursdays are quite busy because they provide free lunch to seniors along with regularly scheduled programming. My main responsibilities included setting up our table, handing out giveaway items, and socializing with the constituents. My language skills proved to be incredibly helpful as there were many Chinese speakers in attendance. I answered any questions or concerns they may have had and translated what others were saying.
From this experience, I felt very fulfilled and motivated to continue the path I am pursuing. There was so much satisfaction in directly helping others and seeing the tangible results of what I was doing in the DTLA office. Everyone was so kind and willing to share their stories.
Rowland Heights Community Center
On July 31st, I tabled with the San Gabriel Valley field office again, but this time, it was in Rowland Heights. In a similar fashion, I set the table with Andrea Moreno, the district director, and connected with community members as we handed out give away items and flyers. Many of the people I spoke to were incredibly appreciative and happy that I could speak Chinese with them. The majority of the people we spoke to were Chinese speakers, so there was less of a language barrier because I was there.
As we were nearing the end of tabling, one of the volunteer line dancing instructors came up to us and began opening up about her experience immigrating from Taiwan to the United States as a single mom. It was an inspirational, yet heartwrenching story of how she and her daughters were able to make a life for themselves here. It was a very beautiful moment to be able to connect with a stranger 1-on-1 like that. The interactions I had at the Rowland Heights Community Center reaffirmed my belief that representation, especially in politics and government, matters because you are able to connect with and understand the community in a way that others cannot.