My name is Trang Do, and I am proud to call the Old North End home. Like many of my neighbors, I know well what it means to juggle rent, work multiple jobs, and navigate our worsening affordability crisis. I'm a proud member of Healthy Living Workers United and Partizan United, and I volunteer with mutual aid organizations because I believe communities are strongest when neighbors take care of one another.
I am also a proud member of Vermont's Vietnamese community. My family moved to Vermont when I was seven. I grew up speaking Japanese and Vietnamese, with English as my third language. After attending South Burlington schools and graduating from UVM, I saw firsthand how many people (including immigrants, working families, and young people) are left behind by systems that should support them.
No Vermonter should be priced out due to the rising cost of rent, food, or a tax system that asks working people to carry more while the wealthiest 1% are not contributing their fair share. None of us should slip through the cracks. When we build systems that leave no one behind, we all move forward together.
