In late October 2024, six of our Service Coordinators (SCs) had the chance to attend the annual National Service Coordinator Conference in Indianapolis. A total of 75 sessions were offered and each session provided unique perspectives for our SCs to bring back to their work...
This past summer, I had the honor to participate in The National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD)’s Community in the Capital (CITC) policy advocacy fellowship. With a summer of preparation, which included forming a cohort in Chicago and training with them...
This summer, LTSC had the pleasure of welcoming interns from all over the country who were interested in pursuing work related to our mission. Before they wrapped up their time with us, we had the chance to sit down with a few of them and...
On July 20th, Terasaki Budokan started a brand new annual event called the “CARE Fair.” The CARE (Collective Action for Resource Equity) Fair was a free health and resource fair open to the public for our unhoused and low-income neighbors. Here, local residents could sign...
This spring, LTSC created a space over Zoom for Japanese and Japanese-American individuals to have group discussions about their experiences with race. Funded by the California Department of Social Services and led by LTSC staff Kento Sakamoto, MSW and Xueyou Wang, “聴 / Chou” not...
If you’re an Angeleno who grew up eating senbei, chances are your rice crackers came from the Umeya Rice Cake Co. factory. Nestled between Little Tokyo and Skid Row on Crocker Street, the rice cracker factory not only produced nostalgic umami snacks, but provided dignified...
For Dani, a New Jersey native now living in Los Angeles, growing up away from the west coast’s Japanese American hubs meant growing up feeling distanced from her mother’s Japanese culture. Dani reflected, “It was a part of myself that I didn’t indulge in. I...
Michelle’s journey as founder and creative director of streetwear brand UPRISERS began ten years ago. Leaving the corporate world for something more fulfilling, she built UPRISERS from the ground up as a brand for social change. LTSC’s Small Business Program helped Michelle get her business...
Growing up in LTSC’s Angelina Apartments in Downtown LA, Alejandro is a self-proclaimed “city boy”. But because of his deep love for his community, he felt helpless when he noticed his neighborhood gentrifying. With meager leadership and community service opportunities at his school, Alejandro wondered...
At the end of July, our executive director Erich Nakano joined leaders from across the state at the White House to discuss how federal legislation impacts the work we do here in Southern California....
