Dear Mayor Harrell,
I am writing to congratulate you on becoming Seattle’s first Asian-American mayor! At Helping Link, we are eager to work with your government to address the issues facing Little Saigon-CID.
First of all, I want to thank you for delivering on your promise to address crime and related problems in the 12th and Jackson Street area. You have no idea how exhilarating it is to see the streets without overt petty crime, drug use and littering. The presence of police mobile units makes local residents and business owners feel more secure. Two weeks later, things are still fine on the street. I would also like to thank Senior Deputy Mayor Monisha Harrell and Deputy Mayor Kendee Yamaguchi for attending the Asia Pacific Directors Alliance meeting on February 16th.
This led me to ask, on behalf of Helping Link staff, youth, parents and seniors, “What is your long-term plan for the Little Saigon-CID community in terms of maintaining current levels of hygiene and crime prevention to ensure this doesn’t happen? Never again Going back to the state of the past three years?”
Second, our community faces a huge problem: gentrification. Helping Link has been notified that the building we occupy will soon be demolished and redeveloped into a market priced apartment complex. As far as I know, there are no affordable units included in the plan, and even less affordable office space for nonprofits like Helping Link.
Founded in 1993, Helping Link has served Vietnamese youth, parents and elders for 28 years and is located in Little Saigon-CID, dedicated to empowering Vietnamese-Americans with social adjustment, family stability and self-sufficiency, while developing community service and young professional leaders . English language proficiency and technical skills are essential requirements in today’s world. We are committed to providing our clients with these tools and helping them fulfill their civic responsibilities. Helping Link is flexible and flexible to meet the needs of our community. However, we are a small nonprofit and gentrification will eventually drive us out of Little Saigon-CID.
This puts us at risk of closure as we rely on long-term partners in the field, such as working majors and local universities.
This is a racial and social justice issue for us.
What are you going to do for Helping Link, other nonprofits, small businesses, and residents who have been overpriced and displaced by gentrification in the Little Saigon neighborhood?
Congrats again and thank you so much for getting our vulnerable people back on the streets. We hope to hear from you and/or your staff within two weeks.
hope and unity,
Nguyen Minh Duc
Executive Director, Help Links
