This summer I worked toward reducing the stigma around Pasco by creating a more welcoming appearance and by helping revive and advertise programs that help support low-income neighborhoods. My original plan was to help prevent gentrification, when outside people come into a neighborhood and start changing it for the worse like driving up rent prices. However after compiling a survey and reviewing responses, I talked to employees at the Downtown Pasco Development Authority to get some of their opinions. Their suggestions for improving the community suggested that they wanted to create a more welcoming appearance so that other people would want to come visit, creating diversity. They wanted better advertising about events as well as the different programs available that support the population.
To help give life and support to Pasco, I worked on improving and advertising programs for low income neighborhoods such as using benefits at the Farmers Market and the Vaccine Campaign. Not many people know about using EBT bucks, money provided to buy fresh food, at the Farmer’s Market. We created social media posts that explained more about these programs and the benefits of using them. Many food stamp programs that can be used at the grocery store can also be used at the local farmers market held every week. The vaccine campaign encourages community members to get vaccinated by offering a $50 voucher to compensate for their time away from work. We focused mainly on vaccines because that was the main concern this summer. We set up spaces for vaccines to be readily administered to the public such as at clinics and at the local farmers market, one of the biggest in the town.
Thank you for all the help and support from the Class of ’64 grant and the CSGC this summer!
-Taryn Boonpongmanee ’24