-The reality is
everyone checks out, the family continues on.
I mean, that's what family is about.
Regardless of having cancer or not or just old age,
you know that that's just part of life.
And so you just have to kind of keep
putting things in perspective.
I mean, I've lost all my immediate family.
I mean, they've all passed away.
So I understand what death is about.
You know, I've been there when people have died,
so I understand what that transition is like.
♪♪
-And one of the things that he started doing
is he got very involved in the Chinatown International
District community.
I think the one that really stood out is that
you may recall about,
I don't know, a year or so ago,
maybe a little bit longer,
that the King County tried to expand the homeless shelter
near the International District, the C.I.D.
And Matt was part of the group that fought it.
-Because the story was not about us versus the unhoused.
My God, you know
who doesn't have empathy for the unhoused. -Right.
-And the shelter that we were pushing
against was a good shelter.
The real question was how underrepresented
communities just don't have a voice.
Decisions are made that directly impact a community,
and the community has no voice.
The long term effects are devastating.
And so I think every community needs to be heard.
I mean that’s, you know, so it's not about the unhoused.
It's really about being heard, because
there is no reason on earth that the,
you know, the Chinatown International District needs
to hold the largest number of shelters in the city.
There's no reason for that. -Right.
♪♪
-There's nothing more
universally Asian than a steaming bowl of rice.
-Matt used his storytelling skills
to help community organizations
with their fundraising.
He also produced videos for candidates of color,
such as State Senator Joe Nguyen,
King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay,
Seattle City Councilmember Tanya Woo,
as well as Port of Seattle Commissioners Sam Cho,
Toshiko Hasegawa and Hamdi Mohamed.
-Matt,
cancer may have taken you from this life, but,
you know, the thing
is, you're always going to be with me in spirit.
-You know, the future is uncertain,
but the future is always uncertain.
-It is.
-People don't realize that the future's...
nothing is promised to you. -Right.
-I just have a little more
certainty about the finality of things.
I mean, I know that,
you know, things will end sooner than I would like,
but I need to be okay with how my life has gone.
And I think it's,
you know, there’s no regrets.
♪♪
Watched City Stream
Tuesday nights at 7 on the Seattle Channel
or find us anytime online at SeattleChannel.org.
♪♪