Youth Advocates Visit Their Congressional Leaders

Youth are not only the future leaders, but we are also the leaders of today. In order for youth to become great leaders, they don't only need support, but commitment to strive and advocate for change.

On Tuesday, July 21, 2009, World Vision's Youth Empowerment Project delegations from twelve sites around the nation met with their Congressional representatives and presented to them a policy recommendation.The Los Angeles delegation representing the Westlake/MacArthur Park community met with Congressman Xavier Becerra, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, and Senator Barbara Boxer's office. Sadly, we were not able to meet with Senator Dianne Feinstein. Our meeting was not "on their schedule." Our policy recommendation was on Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

About 11:00 p.m., the night before the visit to Capitol Hill, we held special meetings. We worked for about an hour and a half to rehearse, determine speaking order, and review our policy recommendations. Later, around 3:00 a.m., one of our fellow delegates with epilepsy woke up with what looked like a seizure. She was gasping for air and had a hard time breathing and talking. We were shocked and extremely concerned about her. She was rushed to the hospital.

The next morning she was out of the hospital recovering. Everyone thought that our congressional meetings were screwed because we weren't going to have her with us. Her story was powerful. It was her story, along with other great stories, that made our policy recommendations strong.

On our way to Capitol Hill that morning as I was standing on the train, I felt uncomfortable. I told one of my colleagues that I did not want to go to Capitol Hill anymore. I felt bad leaving my recovering colleague behind. Minutes later I realized that she wanted each of us to go to the Congressional meetings not only represent our community but her, her struggles, and her obstacles in life.

We first met with Congressman Xavier Becerra who represents California's 31st Congressional District [Echo Park,Silverlake, South Los Angeles,and more]. I really liked this meeting. I liked that he was actually listening to what we had to say. At the same time he was responding to us, not only vocally but visually. My colleagues and I observed that Congressman Becerra was more of a listener than a talker. He seemed to pay close attention and showed interest in what we had to say. Becerra's staff members were also very kind. They seemed like they were happy to have us there. Then again, politicians need more votes. We need to follow up, keep talking to their field office, and work together to accomplish change in our community.

We met next with Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard who represents California's 34th Congressional District [Downtowm Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, and more]. This meeting was pretty awesome, too. I liked that she took the time to speak to us for a long time (almost an hour) at the end of the meeting! Because of what happened the night before, I did get sleepy, but what she had to say was great. She understood the issues we faced, but she also wanted us to understand the other side.

She gave us some examples. One of them was to imagine being an immigrant with three children who had a decent home and a decent job. Imagine a neighbor also with 3 children, a good paying job, and a degree in college. Your neighbor loses his or her job,but you keep yours. He or she is frustrated that they have a college degree and lost their job, when you do not and you still have your job. Wouldn't you be frustrated? Think about it.

When she told us this scenario, I put myself in the shoes of someone else and actually understood better what those who did not like immigrants might feel in the scenario. She shared that we need to understand all sides in order to achieve comprehensive immigration reform. One of my favorite things she said to us was that we, the constituents, were the Congressional Representatives' bosses. We decided if they were elected or not. This is true. If they want another term, they have towork for what the constituents want or else they won't be getting their vote.

Our third congressional meeting was scheduled with Senator Dianne Feinstein. As we waited outside her office some of us were excited. At least I was excited. I knew something about Senator Feinstein's record on the issue of immigration. I wanted her to listen to our stories,maybe we could influence her.

As we waited, most people faced one direction. As I was facing the opposite direction and saw a tall woman heading our way. I noticed it was Dianne Feinstein, and then whispered, "Dianne Feinstein! Shhh! It's Dianne Feinstein". Some of my fellow delegates did not even realize it was her!! Minutes after she walked into the office along with other people dressed in really nice suits they told us that our schedule was not on their schedule. I was disappointed. We were not able to go inside. I told a couple of staff members that I wanted to barge into her office and say something like "If you don't receive us for a couple of minutes, those in our group who will be eligible to vote soon, will not vote for you!!" I didn't do this. Maybe it was common sense for me not to be disrespectful. Maybe it was me not having the courage to speak our truth to someone with power. We plan to follow up with her office in the future either way. I hope she will have the respect to listen to us then.

Our last meeting was scheduled with Senator Barbara Boxer. She was not there. We met with her representative, Sam Rockman. I felt like her representative was a good listener. He didn't take very many notes though. I changed my lines a bit in this presentation. I said some things I did not say in the last two meetings. I think it was an improvement.

At the end of our presentation the representative gave us an understanding of the Senator's view of comprehensive immigration reform. A major thing Senator Boxer's representative told us what that some of our stories could be used on the Senate floor. This is a really big deal! Unlike the other two congressional meetings, Senator Boxer's representative asked for stories. At the end, I believe we actually did really well. We will send her the stories and follow what happens around immigration reform.

Overall, the congressional meetings were awesome. We rocked! We were all prepared. We knew what we had to say. We knew how we were supposed to introduce ourselves, how to project our voice, and how to get their attention without distractions. We all were successful, thanks to the help of our Los Angeles trainers and the support staff at World Vision who set up the meetings. We also had a lot of great advice from guests like Carmelo Alvarez, Gregorio Medina, Porfirio Frausto, and Marc Davidson.

Honestly, our congressional meetings would not have been successful without the help of adults who supported us and with the hard work we, the delegates, put into our policy recommendation.

At the end of the Congressional meetings and the Youth Empowerment Summit, I felt I fulfilled the obligations I had.

Porfirio Frausto once told us, "When you get opportunities, you also have obligations."

This is, honestly, true. We had the opportunity to help our community by joining this leadership training program. When we got accepted, we knew we had the obligation to work on a media project about issues in our community, create a policy recommendation, and go to Washington, D.C. to present to our Congress members. We had the obligation to go and speak for those who feel they have no voice, for those who see no hope, for those who don't have the same opportunities, and for those who seek change in our community.