Birds-eye view a homeless encampment in San Francisco that includes many Filipino Americans. From the documentary “Box City“

Homelessness is an issue that affects us all, but it’s especially felt in TFAL’s home base of Los Angeles.  Last year, thanks to a mix of housing unafforadability, stagnant wages, and the effects of past and present systemic inequities, on any given night, nearly 59,000 people in Los Angeles did not have a permanent place to sleep.

And while some consider Los Angeles to be the “capital of homelessness”, its an issue that is felt even more significantly in the Philippines, where it’s estimated that 4.5 million people are homeless, 3 million of which are in Manila alone.

But how do we as Filipinos connect with this issue?  Is it a topic of discussion in our communities and families?  Are there homeless Filipino Americans?  How do we contend with  poverty, inequity, and economic crisis, both here and in the motherland, and what can we do to solve these issues?

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Earlier this month the Los Angeles Times ran the column Here’s how HiFi, or Historic Filipinotown, got its name by Frank Shyong. In the column Frank quotes TFAL’s Joe Bernardo and mentions Episode 85 – Filipino Ethnic Enclaves: Do They Exist? Do We Need Them?

Head to the LA Times and read the full column and then take a listen to this throwback episode of TFAL!

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here, or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

What are your thoughts about Frank Shyong’s column? What would your ideal Filipinotown look like? Let us know at (805) 394-TFAL (8325) or send us an email at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.