Does anything ever change?

This week, I spent some time walking Capistrano Villas with Gloria, going door to door encouraging neighbors to vote in the HOA board elections. There’s an opportunity right now for residents to have a stronger voice in what happens in our neighborhood. Some neighbors welcomed us in, signed their ballots, and handed them to us to mail. Others needed help requesting replacements. One conversation from that day keeps coming back to me.

We met a man who has lived in Capistrano Villas for 30 years. He told us he didn’t want to vote because nothing ever changes.

Gloria looked at him and said: “Nada cambia porque no vota.”

He paused, then asked, “¿Y si no tengo mi boleta, qué hago?”

We helped him request a replacement. Before we left, he said: “Cuentan con mi voto.”

I keep thinking about that moment. Not because it was big, but because it was simple. A neighbor reminding another neighbor that their voice matters.

And I know that’s where change really begins-not all at once, but in small conversations, repeated over time, until people begin to believe they belong in shaping what happens around them. Little by little, that’s what we’re seeing here.

Miriam Zuñiga

Adult Program Director

CLC Lead Facilitator