GARCETTI

ABNER GALINO, Fil-Am News Editor

Fil-Am Community

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APOPGLA helps Persons With Disabilities

Quezon, City, Philippines — As an off shoot of the joint Emerald Lantern Group and Pangasinan Brotherhood-USA’s fund-raising dinner dance in October 2019, the Alpha Phi Omega (Philippines) of Greater Los Angeles (APOPGLA), Pangasinan Brotherhood-USA, Arizona-based Lichauco Heritage Foundation and APO Gamma Kappa (Ateneo) Alumni Assn., picked up the pieces and joined forces to initiate the Operation Gabay in Barangay Sangandaan, bottom of our heart, we the Gabay members would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to everyone.

Gabay founder Henry Sadang who is now based in Southern California also expressed his pleasure for the successful implementation of this humanitarian program. He provided refreshments and snacks to the recipients and volunteers.

Rosemarie de Vera-Javier, former Mutya ng Pilipinas and a Board member of

Quezon City, Philippines.

APOPGLA appointed its implementing arm on the ground, the Manila-based APO Gamma Kappa in the distribution of goods like diapers, wipes, alcohol, vitamins, powdered milk, fi ve kilos of rice and cash of PHP 1,000 each child for their medications who belong to 21 families of GABAY GROUP on Aug. 30.

These were received by the parents of Gabay kids as the children were prohibited to roam outside of their homes due to Covid-19 restrictions . The goods were also distributed from house to house for some families who could not receive their stuff in person.

GABAY is a group of parents of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) that helps in promoting social awareness of rare medical conditions such as cerebral palsy, autism, down syndrome and epilepsy.

The distribution was held with members of Gabay Group, APO-Gamma Kappa Alumni President Pete Cunag and Service Project Chairman Richard Agbayani and Barangay Sangandaan offi cials led by Kagawad Edwin Vidad.

Gabay coordinator Sonia Sadang-Angeles in her summary report said that the volunteers managed to talk to the parents to fully understand their situation.

“Rest assured that safety precautionary measures were followed such as social distancing, no physical contact and everyone wore face shields and masks to help fl atten the curve.”

Sadang-Angeles thanked the various sponsors for providing the funds and goods that made the distribution possible and successful. She enthused, “From the Pangasinan Brotherhood-USA and CEO of Emerald Lantern Group who introduced the Gabay Group to APOPGLA remarked, “Thank you APOPGLA. Through your initiative, many angels are rejoicing and you made our Almighty Father smile.”

The nine APOPGLA board members who initiated this service project in the Philippines are Dan E. Nino (CEO/COB), Mar Garchitorena (corporate secretary), Irma H. Almazan (treasurer), Ferdie Yambot (auditor), Ofelia V. Amon (assistant auditor), Mac Lichauco, Betta M. David, Raul David and Alex Almazan.

Due to the remarkable and positive response of this humanitarian program benefi ting the disadvantaged children in Quezon City, APOPGLA’s Board Chairman Dan E. Nino said that it will reprise again on Dec. 16 this year to coincide with the 95th founding anniversary of Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity in Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.

“The joy of life is in giving, nurturing and uplifting the underprivileged,” he pointed out.

Alpha Phi Omega (Philippines) of Greater Los Angeles is a 501 C-3 public benefi t and charitable non-profi t organization whose mission is to “foster the tenets of Leadership, Friendship & Service amongst the youth and the disadvantaged.

Among other on-going charitable program of APOPGLA are providing Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) and free meals to Covid-19 frontliners at the Philippine General Hospital and providing basic school equipment and supplies to Lorenzo High School in Manila dubbed “Brigada Eskwela.”

“No going back”: presents evidence of structural racism; platform for change

In a report issued today, No Going Back: Together for an Equitable and Inclusive Los Angeles, the Committee for Greater LA is proposing a sweeping regional agenda for system change. Rooted in new data and analysis, the report attacks systemic racism at the root, identifying the policies and institutions that were designed to oppress, exclude and marginalize people of color for centuries and lays out a roadmap for transformation centered in racial equity.

The independent report, a collaboration of the Committee for Greater LA, USC’s Equity Research Institute and UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Aff airs and funded by philanthropy, includes 10 guiding principles addressing areas from housing, economic justice and mental and physical health to youth voice, immigration, and the role of the nonprofi t sector.

Those accompany dozens of major policy recommendations ranging from establishing high-speed internet as a civil right; promoting “California citizenship” to ensure equal access to services for all residents, regardless of immigration status; and a regional Housing-for-All strategy to end homelessness in Los Angeles, among many more.

In addition to No Going Back’s stark moral charge to repair an unequal society, its practical dimensions serve as a radical economic development plan that would restore the more than $300+ billion in annual GDP that Los Angeles loses every year due to systemic racial disparities, as calculated by the Equity Research Institute at USC.

“Many of us have spent our careers enabling broken, racist systems, and this moment calls us to create something better,” said Miguel Santana, chair of the Committee for Greater LA. “This committee’s research clearly illustrates that the old status quo was failing millions of Angelenos in terms of health and housing, education and employment, jails and policing, with the disparities falling along clear racial lines. We can’t go back to the way things were before. We need a more inclusive and equitable new normal.”

The USC/UCLA research team’s key fi ndings illuminate the legacy of decades of intentional policies that have excluded and marginalized communities of color, especially Black people:

Inequality where we work. Nearly half of whites hold lower-risk jobs not classifi ed as essential that require less contact with people, while Native Hawaiian & Pacifi c Islanders are especially over-concentrated in high-contact jobs, as are Black and Latino workers. The intersection of COVID with these disparities led to a Black death rate double that of white people and a Latino death rate now higher, and the highest for Asian Pacifi c Islanders at three times that of white people.

Inequality where we learn. 39% and 37% of Latino & Black school-age children, respectively, lack computer and high-speed internet at home — just one metric of inequality in a system where African-American, American Indian, and Latino students have the lowest graduation rates, the highest dropout rates, and the highest representation among foster children, English Language Learners, student with disabilities and experiencing homelessness, and chronic absenteeism.

Inequality because of our origins. Eighteen percent of L.A. County residents are either undocumented or living with a family member who is. About 200,000 children have mixed-status parents, making them ineligible for federal relief through COVID stimulus programs.

No Going Back is fi lled with similar fi ndings, ranging from gaps in health, income, wealth and housing, to disparities in the justice system that aff ect Black and Latino people harshly and people experiencing homelessness even more.

“We can’t let our sense of what’s possible be limited to what we’ve been able to do so far,” said committee member Fred Ali, president and CEO of the Weingart Foundation.

“Philanthropy can be the laboratory for an agenda to overturn racial injustice, challenge white supremacy and nurture equity. It can also build support for new funding streams and new governance structures. Making real change requires courage. But going back to the policies that got us to this point is not an option.”

The 10 guiding principles that structure that agenda are:  Address anti-Black racism in all its forms  Build an economy that centers those who have been left behind and excluded in future strategies  Enhance the physical and mental health systems that can support communities and individuals living with the trauma of systemic neglect and oppression  Create housing for all and end unsheltered homelessness  Ensure access, mobility, and voice for immigrants regardless of status  Support education access for all children and all communities  Celebrate and support youth leadership and empowerment  Strengthen the non-profi t sector as a key part of civil society  Develop both community power and accompanying metrics to hold systems accountable  Promote leadership and alignment for equity across business, community, philanthropy, and multiple levels of government

Personal stories drawn from focus group discussions with a wide range of Los Angeles County residents run through No Going Back, illustrating those principles and the policy recommendations that follow them.

No Going Back was written by Manuel Pastor of USC and Gary Segura of UCLA. The fi ndings in the report synthesize new research with preexisting data to illuminate the hidden structures of how Los Angeles fails so many communities. The solutions it off ers will advance racial equity, increase accountability, and spark a broad civic conversation about L.A.’s future.

“The COVID-19 disease has revealed our underlying illness: too many are at risk because of structural racism, income inequality, and our broken immigration system,” said Pastor, the director of the USC Equity Research Institute. “The current crisis has reminded us of a basic public health principle – to protect ourselves, we need to protect everyone – and that should be our policy guide going forward. The good news: Los Angeles, at long last, is ready to attack these issues head-on and grassroots community organizations are ready to lead, shape, and sustain the change we need.”

“This is uncharted territory,” said Segura, Dean of the Luskin School of Public Aff airs at UCLA. “We can’t use the structures of the past as a basis for the future. We need new systems, better accountability, and a clear vision of the

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Room’s design illuminates a future that does more than brighten public spaces — it brings smarter design to our neighborhoods, helps us combat climate change, and promotes equity across our city.”

Led by the Mayor’s Offi ce and the Bureau of Street Lighting (BSL), the competition asked applicants to consider how streetlights can incorporate new technology, include space for text on each pole, and provide shade to help ease the impacts of the climate crisis. The entries were judged by a panel of six experts in design, lighting, and public infrastructure.

Project Room will receive $70,000 for winning the competition. The design will not impact the standing of historic streetlights already in place across Los Angeles. Instead, it will gradually replace the roughly 180,000 standard streetlights currently dispersed citywide. BSL installs 1,000 to 2,000 standard streetlights each year.

“We are incredibly honored that our design was selected by the City of L.A. and the Bureau of Street Lighting,” said Sandy Yum, Project Room co-founder. “L.A. Lights the Way challenged us to create a new streetlight for Los Angeles that would connect to our city's design history and culture, incorporate new technology, and still refl ect L.A.'s diversity. We are delighted that the City of LA took this historic opportunity to reimagine its core systems as a symbol of this diversity, rather than an expression of ordered uniformity. In this way it can truly become an icon of the city of Los Angeles. At a time of great cultural and civic transformation, the streetlight is an ever-changeable monument to an ever-changing city."

Project Room’s winning design reimagines the traditional lamp post as a bundle of tubes where each service — roadway light, pedestrian light, and telecommunications equipment — is assigned a dedicated tube fabricated of steel or aluminum. The design allows for additional features, such as 5G equipment, shade fi xtures, and even a bench, to be added as needed.

“The City of Los Angeles has more than 223,000 streetlights that refl ect our history through their beautiful designs,'' said BSL Executive Director Norma Isahakian. “I am so excited that L.A. Lights the Way will allow our basic standard streetlight to be designed to refl ect who we are as Angelenos and carry us into the future.”

“The Project Room design was the clear standout for the members of the jury,” said Christopher Hawthorne, Chief Design Offi cer for the City of Los Angeles. “What’s most impressive about it is that it’s not a single, fi xed design but instead a family of forms that can be reconfi gured in nearly endless ways. That adaptability will serve to future-proof the design, giving it fl exibility in accommodating new technology as it arrives.”

Mayor Garcetti also announced winners from the professional student (college-age) and student (high school-age) competition during the event. More information on the entire competition, student winners, and other details can be found at LALightstheWay.org.

PPEs to Homeless Veterans from the United Specialist Healthcare Foundation

Outpouring of global support for those affected by the growing COVID-19 pandemic has been overwhelming as communities continue to face unprecedented challenges from the virus outbreak.

“This year, because of the coronavirus pandemic,” said board member Lucy Babaran, the “United Specialist Healthcare Foundation has provided PPEs, personal protective equipment, and personal hygiene kits to homeless veterans in San Fernando Valley, Calif., on August 5, 2020.”

Chris Crowley and Adrianne Beasley received PPE donations on behalf of the veterans, witnessed by Dr. Babaran and USHF board members Lucy Babaran, Emily Roberts, Annie Cho, and Johnny Feldman. “PPEs are used every day by healthcare personnel (HCP),” Lucy continued, “to protect themselves, their patients, and others when providing care. PPEs help protect HCP from many hazards encountered in healthcare facilities.

“The greatly increased need for PPE,” she added, “caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has caused PPE shortages, posing a tremendous challenge to the U.S. healthcare system. Healthcare facilities are having diffi culty accessing the needed PPEs and are having to identify alternate ways to provide patient care.”

The veterans are homeless, according to Lucy, “because they don’t have income as they are unemployed due to their physical disabilities and are suff ering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to stressors in a war zone and in military duties. Most of the homeless veterans are elderly and have underlying health conditions so they are the ones most vulnerable to corona virus. There are Filipino veterans who are homeless as the small amount of subsidy they receive from the US government is not even enough to pay for a small apartment. They also want to send their small subsidy to their families in the Philippines; thus, nothing is left for their subsistence in the U.S. USHF’s assistance for the homeless veterans will be an ongoing project during the pandemic and post Covid-19 pandemic.”

The United Specialist Healthcare Foundation was approved as a 501(c) (3) nonprofi t, public charity organiza-

HEADED by President Joselito Babaran, MD (leftmost), USHF members are of diverse nationalities including FilAms, Americans, and Koreans.

tion on September 9, 2014. The Board is composed of members with diff erent specialties and professions including a lawyer, an MD, RNs, Public Health workers, Pharmaceuticals, and other specialties.

Its mission is to save lives, promoting health and wellness. Its vision is to inspire hope and build a better future for USHF benefi ciaries globally particularly the underserved and underprivileged in the U.S. and the Philippines.

Various fundraising activities were done through the years and benefi ciaries of USHF include two Orphanages in the Philippines, providing fi nancial assistance and tools for livelihood for Indigenous Tribes in Central Luzon (Aetas), Puerto Prinsesa (Batak Village) and Benguet, Cordillera, in partnership with Ambassador Leo and Madam Fides Herrera-Lim. USHF has also provided fi nancial assistance to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, and City of Hope in Duarte, California.

USHF is reaching out to individuals as well as organizations for help to raise funds to provide needs of homeless veterans in California. As of 2018 data, there are 10, 838 homeless veterans in California out of a total of 37, 000 homeless veterans nationwide.

For those who may want to donate, please contact Lucy Babaran at 818-395-9348. Your donation is tax deductible as allowed by IRS.

Filipino Migrant Center holds 10th Anniversary Virtual Gala

On September 5th, 2020, over 135 people attended Bayanihan: 10 Years of Justice, Struggle, and Solidarity, the Filipino Migrant Center’s (FMC) 10th year anniversary gala celebrating its work in Southern California.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the gala was held virtually through Zoom so participants could celebrate from the safety of their own homes. The theme of the event was “Bayanihan”, which in Filipino culture means the spirit of a community uniting and working together to meet a common goal. The organization exceeded its $20,000 fundraising goal, which will be used to sustain its operations and programming for the community.

The program began with a message from FMC’s Executive Director, Romeo Hebron, who spoke about the organization’s free programs and services to assist low-wage workers, labor traffi cking survivors, youth, and senior citizens over the last 10 years.

Hebron emphasized the importance of community organizing as the solution to the issues faced by people and explained how many of FMC’s program participants have used the skills they learned to launch their own organizations for workers and youth. “FMC celebrates that. It is truly a victory for the people to see them organizing themselves and demonstrating their own collective power,” Hebron stated.

The program also included several awards for outstanding Filipino community members. Staff member Joselle de los Reyes presented the “Service Award” to Bebot Community Kitchen and Chef AC Boral for their partnership in cooking more than 3,000 meals to distribute to food insecure Filipino

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