This non-profit organized “Nightmare on 6th Street” to scare and inform the community – Press Telegram

This past weekend, Khmer Girls in Action held an event that not only terrified Long Beach residents, but also provided them with more information about the upcoming general election on Tuesday, November 5th.

A local nonprofit organized Nightmare on 6th Street, an interactive haunted house experience focused on voter education.

The mission of Khmer Girls in Action (KGA) was to build a progressive and sustainable Long Beach community and envision a safe, healthy and just world in which all people are free from oppression and can determine their own lives and communities, according to to his website.

The Khmer Girls in Action program invests in and empowers Southeast Asian youth to become leaders for justice in their communities and focuses on holistic youth development, political education and experiential learning in planning and executing events, campaigns and cultural strategies, according to its website.

The organization decided to host A Nightmare on 6th Street to encourage Long Beach residents to get out and vote in this election, and this is one of the first haunted house events they have held since 2019, since the event was put on pause from -due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers said.

Traditionally, each year, youth members of the Khmer Justice Program and the Long Beach Youth Program come together to create and host a haunted house, where they choose a theme and find eerily creative ways to demonstrate how important certain measures and ballot proposals are to the community. and how they will impact the lives of different generations and people, said Kellyana Lim, KGA communications coordinator.

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On Sunday, October 27, 2024, Khmer Girls in Action hosted “Nightmare on 6th Street,” an interactive haunted house experience focused on voter education. (Photo courtesy of Khmer Girls in Action)

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“As an AAPI youth organization dedicated to advancing civic empowerment and participation, we believe it is important for our community to actively participate in the voting process,” Lim said.

“Historically, young people and people of color have been underrepresented in civic engagement, which makes our outreach and education efforts even more important as election results can significantly impact their lives,” Lim added. “As we work to get our community more involved in the voting process, we believe we need to highlight how proposals and measures directly impact our lives. When we do not actively engage in civic engagement, we risk losing sight of our experiences and needs, which can have long-term negative consequences for ourselves and future generations.”

For this year’s Halloween, young participants chose the name of the event and focused on presenting different scenarios of how a yes or no vote on Measure A, Proposition 5 and Proposition 36 could impact communities through the haunted house maze, Lim said. Lim said.

Youth participants created images, skits and acted out the different ways these proposals and measures could affect people, using a spooky Halloween theme.

In addition to the educational maze, the event also featured food, music, information booths and more.

Youth participants noted that the event helped “strengthen the bond between friends and family.” Since many members are not yet old enough to vote, it also gives them the opportunity to influence voting and make others and themselves feel “more powerful”, Lim said.

“Nightmare on 6th Street” took place on Sunday, October 27th at the Youth Action and Education Center, 2217 E. 6th St.

If members of the Long Beach community were unable to attend this event, they can attend the Khmer Girls in Action event. website or social media for other upcoming events.