[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 152 (Friday, September 20, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1188-E1189]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE THAI COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CENTER

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                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 20, 2019

  Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Thai Community 
Development Center upon its 25th Anniversary.
   The Thai Community Development Center (Thai CDC) was founded in 1994 
with the goal of supporting and improving the lives of Thai immigrants 
and other ethnic communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Thai CDC 
achieves its mission through a comprehensive community development 
strategy and initiatives that focus on a variety of issues including 
access to healthcare and social services, affordable housing, human 
rights advocacy, neighborhood empowerment, and small business 
incubation.
   Thai CDC played an essential role in an eight-year community 
organizing campaign that raised awareness and led to the creation of 
Los Angeles' Thai Town in 1999, the first Thai Town in the United 
States. Through this designation, Thai CDC has been able to engage in 
transit-oriented development and beautification efforts such as the 
installation of the Kinarra Lamposts. This strategy to revitalize an 
otherwise depressed portion of East Hollywood through cultural-based 
tourism has allowed the Thai American community to prosper and 
flourish. In 2008, Thai Town was designated a Preserve America 
neighborhood, a federal designation celebrating cultural heritage and 
encouraging historic preservation.
   Throughout the years, Thai CDC has been instrumental in creating 
events and spaces to foster economic opportunity and bring Angelenos 
and tourists alike to Thai Town.

[[Page E1189]]

Thai CDC spearheaded the effort to build and develop the Thai Town 
Market Place and establish a twice weekly East Hollywood Farmers Market 
to help incubate small businesses and provide healthy and affordable 
food options to the neighborhood. In 2004, Thai CDC helped found the 
Thai New Year's Day Songkran Festival which has since become an annual 
event attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees.
   Since its founding, Thai CDC has also been committed to improving 
the lives of Thai immigrants through culturally sensitive and 
linguistically appropriate social services and programs such as legal 
aid, financial literacy and counseling, and mediation and dispute 
resolution. In addition to assisting clients with securing affordable 
housing, Thai CDC has also built the Halifax Apartments, a multi-family 
affordable housing development in Hollywood, and the Palm Village 
Senior Housing in Sun Valley. Thai CDC has also raised awareness of 
modern-day slavery and human trafficking in the United States through 
the creation of the Slavery Eradication and Rights Initiative, SERI.
   I am proud to recognize the Thai Community Development Center for 
twenty-five years of providing extraordinary service to the Thai 
American community in the greater Los Angeles area, and I ask all 
members to join me in congratulating the center for its outstanding 
achievements.

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