Along our route were two churches. There was a Chinese Mennonite and Church of Latter Day Saints. Which we found odd since the neighborhood appeared to be predominately Latino.
On the second day, we decided to meet with the Pastor at the First Presbyterian Church. The entrance of the church was located in the basement and we met with the pastor who had been at the church for about a year. He had been living in Nebraska for most of his life before moving to Anaheim. The pastor noticed a big difference between the communities in Anaheim from that of Nebraska. The pastor mentioned that the community in Anaheim does not make an effort to learn and practice the word of God. He also discussed how the Latino community is disintegrated and lacks the cohesiveness of Latino communities from South American countries. The pastor noted that every day, he carries 7 dollars with him to hand out to people who are living on the streets. He mentioned that homelessness has increased and he sees more people living in poverty.
Before we left the First Presbyterian Church the girls decided to participate in the annual, “Princess Week Festival”.
For lunch, we located a Mexican restaurant called Sahuaros located on 615 S. Euclid Street. The woman taking our order was not fluent in English and its clientele is mainly Latino. Because business has been slow, the managers have a special deal on Thursdays: the tacos are 85 cents all day. We dined on chips, salsa & guacamole, chicken flautas, beef and tongue burritos.
As we walked back across the street we found a business called Deportes y Perfumeria Rabadan. The business sells soccer gear and perfumes and is owned by a Latino Family. The establishment has been there for 3 years. But was previously a Karate / Martial Arts studio. At the time of the visit, the wife (co-owner) was present and she mentioned that business is slow. While talking about the community, she mentioned that she has lived in Anaheim for the past 27 years and feels safe. She does not believe that gangs are a problem in the community. Instead, she stated the people in the community fear the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Most importantly, she also stated that she thinks that the Latino Community living in Anaheim do not help each other out and are very apathetic. She noticed that some parents do not try to get involved in the extracurricular activities that their children are involved in. For instance, she said that soccer coaches are in charge of picking up their players before practice/games because parents are uninvolved. Coaches feel that it’s their responsibility to help adolescents remain active so that they do not get involved in gangs.
While we were at the soccer store we noticed a lot of police and fire department activity that was 1 block away. As we walked to the commotion we noticed that an elderly man had mistakenly placed his foot on the gas pedal of his car and slammed into the front doors of the McDonalds. The employees asked that we not photograph the store since we were not official press. Instead we have included a picture of the police and fire department vehicles on the scene.
Located down the street near the McDonalds was a gated apartment complex for seniors aged 62 and older. This privately owned building was built in 1990, with the specific intention of being senior housing. Although they accepted section 8, there was no waiting line to get an apartment.
As we walked backed we realized many parts of Anaheim are incredibly diverse and multi-cultural and that is its greatest strength.
