Orange Coast Magazine | Person of Interest: Engage and Empower

By Chrissy Park

Tell us about your motivation for founding VietRISE.
In 2014, I had been involved in a campaign for the election, and it was one of the lowest voter turnout rates since the Great Depression. That was also the first time I really canvassed Vietnamese voters and learned how candidate campaigns talk to our community. It was a really big eyeopener for me to see firsthand how working-class Vietnamese families and voters like the ones I talk to are often overlooked by the systems that are supposed to be supporting them.

Why is your work with VietRISE is so important?
We always say that what happens here in Little Saigon in Orange County sends ripple effects of change through Vietnamese communities across the country and also the world, so this is truly the center of the Vietnamese diaspora. For decades, we’ve had people in power who have responded to some of the worst, most complicated issues our community faces— like housing instability, deportation, lack of representation in government—with Band-Aid solutions. But our community, especially the working class who make up the majority of Vietnamese people here, (need) long-term solutions, and we need to have our people to actually create real change, rather than keep voting for people who may or may not even listen to us.

What have you learned through your position as executive director?
It’s really important to know nothing can change if you’re doing it alone. Immediate support can help our community, but what we truly need is long-term systemic change. In order to do that, it’s not just an organization that should have power. It’s neighborhoods, associations. It’s groups led by residents themselves. That is what’s going to create long-term change.