Atom

The below interview is with Atom, one of the volunteers at the Westlake Community Table.

Ed-First off. When you’re quoted, how do you want to be referred to as?

Atom-Atom is cool. A T O M.

Ed-First off-- how are you? What’ve you been up to?

Atom-How am I? I’m all right. Another cool day.

Ed-I heard that you were out doing transportation and conducting distribution. How did that go today?

Atom-Earlier today? It was all right. I’ll do a recap. I went out and went to an encampment really close to where I live, and checked in on Ms. Linda because I hadn’t seen her in about a week. She was out of town with her daughter and granddaughter. So she had just gotten back a couple days ago, and I’ve been checking in with her pretty often for a month or so now. Staying on top of her case worker; she has a case worker with this non-profit that she always refers to as: “Well, Obama gave 30 million dollars to them so I don’t know what the fuck they’re doing! I’m still on the street!” So, yes. I’ve been trying to stay on top of the case worker like, “Hey, she knows where she wants to go. You just have to go to that builder, contact the property owner, get whatever documentation that they retro-sign, and y’all are supposed to do all that!” Walk through whoever their clients are, and then they are non-profit. It covers their rent. They have different, various fields, like one: We pay your first two months, and then starting on the third month we cover 75%, and then gradually it’s supposed to… whatever. But they haven’t even started out with her. I’m getting into too much detail. I hadn’t seen her in a while, so I checked up with her, seeing how she felt about the covid vaccine, if she wasn’t interested in getting it asap or hold off, or what. While I was there--I planned ahead to meet there; I told someone who works in this local assignment, a local street watch--our friend grace, we had coordinated that she would pick up 50 meals from Hollywood Food Coalition (It’s a coalition but they made it this place in Hollywood; there are tons of people that know about it throughout LA; they’ll make meals in a sack lunch or get them from some food bank. It’s one place for everyone to coordinate to pick up at the same time. They have like a thousand meals every Sunday, I don’t know.) So, then, Grace brought 50 meals to where I was, because the plan was--in our local today, only two people were available to do distribution. One lady, Valeria, she got 50 meals to take to closer where she lives in, in Los Feliz, so she was handling that, and I live in silverlake, so Grace couldn’t do the distribution but did the delivery, which was really helpful. She pulled up with the meals, dropped the off, met Linda for a second, walked around the bridge, dropped off some meals for anybody that was into it. Everybody seemed pretty somber. Just last night there was a big fire right there. A bunch of stuff burned, including someone’s tent. Then, I had helped coordinate with someone in our local about the tent, which they did, but again, this person that dropped it off doesn’t know the encampment that well, or the people, so I later found out they dropped it off with someone who already has a tent and claimed that it was theirs that burnt down. Luckily, I was still there hanging out with Linda and was like “It sounds like Rock got the tent, even though you told me it was so-and-so’s that burnt down--Scott I think.” And she said, “Yeah, Rock is always trying to accumulate more than he needs, because he’s going to sell that shit… but I regulate things around here, so now that I know that, I’m going to take care of it.” So at least that information was exchanged and Linda knows what to do now to get the tent to the appropriate person, who actually lost it.”

Ed-Damn.

Atom-That’s kind of a constant scenario down there. Things like that are always going off and Linda is always holding it down. Shes like, “They’re scared of me. If everyone here tries to keep their little shenanigans from me, because they know when I find out, I’m going to try and make it right.”

Ed-That’s cool.

Atom-So that’s that. She told me that she’s actually moving now into a bridge home shelter, which definitely wasn’t her first choice, but I think she’s really gotten to the point where she’s like, “I want to get off the streets,” and those are the easiest things to get into right now for a lot of folks that the city has built. It’s a very temporary solution, but they’re trying to pass it off--

Ed-Like advertise?

Atom-Yeah, to the public, like, “Hey! We got these things! Shelter!” And it’s just this structure with cubicles, walls that go up 8 feet high--cubicles with cots in them. And there’s like one or two bathrooms for the whole thing that everyone is supposed to use. And Linda explicitly had said before that she didn’t want anything like that, that she was trying to get an apartment, but she told me that she took the bridge home right now. But she still has all this stuff that she can’t bring with her there. All of her belongings. So she’s trying to get her belongings to a close-by storage unit that’s in her name. But recently she alleges that people she knows broke into her unit and stole a bunch of shit out there and vandalized it, and she was like, “I can’t put any more stuff in there until I file a police report for them to do an investigation of some sort, to put that on record, for them to try to figure out who stole my shit.” So she doesn’t want to go in there and touch anything until she gets the police report. So in the meantime, all of her stuff is outside on the street with her, and she’s in this purgatory situation.

Ed-Yeah, shit.

Atom-It sucks.

Ed-It sounds terrible.

Atom-That was just the beginning of the day.

Ed-My god.

Atom-So, she met up with her friend who is blind met up and lives across the street from MacArthur park in a Section 8--I think it is; she has her own studio there. And I told her about the community table. And she said “I never go to the park. I can’t see, and every time I go to the park people take things from me. So I don’t even go down there.”

Ed-Oh shit. Damn. <Sighs>.

Ed/--Oh my god!

Atom/--and they’re still stealing shit from him! And I’m like, “Dude, you’re holding this place together and there’s this disrespect. That’s crazy.” He’s like, “I know. What do you think’s been going through my mind this whole time!” And I’m putting this together in my mind right now and am like, “That’s fucked up.” And he’s like “Yeah, so I’m trying to move to another place. My cousin lives in Hollywood, so if you know anyone with a pickup truck that can get all my stuff out of here in one trip. I’m trying to get to Hollywood and set up camp in a new spot.

Ed-Ye-yeah. Oh shit.

Atom-That’s where we are right now. I lent him the money. Fortunately, I texted the one guy in Street Watych and said--and I took an audio recording for testimonial, just a short clip: “Hey my name is Sean. I’m requesting X amount of money so I can get this bike. I have COPD and I can’t walk and run around so I need something motorized.” So I sent that audio clip to the budget guy in my local for accountability, you know, and I said “I’m about to loan him 50 bucks for this, and want to make sure I can get reimbursed for that.” And he responded quickly: “Yeah, no problem.” So, yeah. I went to go get the cash, and meet up with him in a parking lot to get the bike. I ran into two other groups of people who were doing food distribution who I had never met before--from different organizations. And they were like “Whoa, you’re doing that to! Who are you?” <laughs>. I mean--they were driving like a 2020 Volvo SUV or something, and I’m like... Y’all are like… I’m like “All right, let’s get some information here… Maybe you can be our new hygiene kit source or something because we can’t afford a thousand bucks a month.”

Ed-Fuckin’ sponsors, shit.

Atom-Yeah. So, I exchanged information with those do-gooder white people. Maybe we’ll have some sort of agreement in the future where it’s like, “Hey, y’all secure the food, and we have the relationships with everybody already. We can do the distribution.” We’ll see what happens.

Ed-Busy day, then!

Atom-Yeah, it’s been busy. It was about a four hour ordeal, all together today. 

Ed-That makes me wonder. It sounds like you’ve already solidified strong relationships with the folks out there--particular individuals. Sounds like you’ve committed yourself as a longterm source of support for the people who are living there.

Atom-<laughs>

Ed-I’m curious. Do you have any of those relationships with anyone at MacARthur? If not, do you think you would like to?

Atom-I’m always open. Yeah. For making new friends or whatever. I’m totally open to it. Just knowing that that community table with Linh and everyone. They are pretty consistent and have their relationships there. I think they’re doing a great job. I do feel like a lot of the encampments close to where I live are neglected in that kind of way. Not neglected in a surface-;level or superficial way. Not superficial, meaning I don’t mean to sound negative. But it’s limited to people just dropping off sack lunches and some blankets and stuff. I feel like it would be good--I’m still using my time and energy to develop relationships with the folks that are in a mile proximity of where I live, or less. There are a lot of them there.

Ed-That makes sense.

Atom-But at MacArthur park? Currently, no I don’t have relationships like that with anyone there. I’d say the person I talk to the most is probably Dana.

Ed-It sounds like that the most meatiest situation that you can invest your time and energy in. Yeah. So you think… I’m assuming that you’ve been around LA--driving around--and you’ve transported resources and essentials to the community out there and the one in MacArthur. How would you say--do you think that throughout the city there are degrees… you commented on the fact this this community near you isn’t having a lot of consistent resources being funnelled in… Based on your perspective, how would you define MacArthur Park’s situation as far as resources being distributed to the community? Do you think it’s pretty strong?

Atom-I think… from the little that I know about the MacArthur park situation, I think there are a decent amount of folks similar to that community table that we know and have been to, and the Street Watch local that I’m a part of, similar to what we do: I think there are a lot of mutual aid type efforts happening there, actually. People are bringing food and life supplies, like the hygiene stuff and tents and stuff like that. So I think there’s a volunteer-faced organizational effort that is happening there, and I don’t know how many of them are connected or coordinated with each other. Maybe they don’t that much, but I could see that happening in the near future. So, I think that is happening. As far as state social services? I think it’s pretty minimal, if anything at all. They seem to be a pretty neglected part of town, for sure. But that’s not uncommon, we see.

Ed-That’s interesting that you refer back to the Street Watch. That’s like the other major group that’s putting the work into the community. I was talking to Elliot. He lives in LaFayette park. He’s unhoused. He learned about the table recently--a month or a few weeks ago--from Street Watch members doing outreach in LaFayette park and they referred to “The Westlake Table.”

Atom-That’s great!

Ed-Yeah! I was surprised, too. I remember for a little bit--maybe that was back in November-- when Linh and a few other members were like, “Yeah, Street watch is trying to ignore the Westlake Table.” Of course resources weren’t taken away, but they weren’t trying to advertise the table. But Elliot, he found the table--he’s new, been there like 3 times now--and he’s like, “Yeah, they told me about that.” That’s the thing. You were talking about the potential of organizing these mutual aid groups to work together. My question: how do you think that can arise? Better communication? And particularly with the Westlake Table, since you know the situation with that table. Street Watch was an affiliate, but not anymore. Do you think there can be a partnership or a resolve to help get that network built?

Atom-On the subject of this particular case and what happened there… I don’t know for sure, but I would imagine it was probably a Street Watch person from the K-town local. Maybe they were doing some outreach there, or one single member of that local was over there one day or something? Who knows? Because that’s the closest adjacent Street Watch local to that area, I believe. And I’m sure you gathered this from Linh. That particular local of Street Watch--she used to consistently do stuff with that local, and she’s still cool with everyone in that local as far as I know. So they still have that; they have a good rapport with one another. So that makes sense. This organization called streetwatch is fast now. It’s probably… who knows how many cliques within the chapter-wide thing. There’s hundreds of people doing this work under the guise of Street Watch. And just like other organizations or movements, there’s going to be a wide spectrum of remediology <? 24:30>, philosophy--political philosophy--in there, and when you pair that with a person’s personal whatever-they-have-going-on and whatever they have in their history that’s brought them to this point--and who’s knows people’s baggage and stuff--you never know what you’re going to get with this many people working to do like what they feel and consider to be better than status quo. So, that. I think--yeah, I’m not negative, so I’m going to be like, “This is a lost cause…. I amenable to the idea of what both organizations are doing.” (Audio cut out bad with phone vibrations at 25:30) There must be people in Street Watch that seems them as comrades in some respect, or else they probably wouldn’t have referred them to the table. I’m at different local and I would definitely say the same. I would point somebody in that direction if they were staying around there, and I will always do my best to keep the people that are in my local Street Watch aware of that Westlake Community Table just in case--it’s not that far from where we live. It’s a relevant topic. I think it makes sense for all these organizations to have that kind of network going on, so they know where to refer people based on their geographical set-up. I’d say that the only thing that would stand in the way of Street Watch working with the community table would be a few bad actors in Street Watch that would go out of the way or be obstacles to prevent that from happening. But I can’t really say that I would anticipate those kinds of people to put that much energy into creating that obstacles. But again, I don’t know. Maybe they’re actual psychos. I mean--they were kind of pathological--they’ve got some problems, definitely--but I’m hoping that whatever they might do to tarnish a relationship or exacerbate any possible relationship, I hope that the greater Street Watch people would understand that this is a personal feud that these people have. This table is doing great things. It makes sense to refer people there if people are living or traversing in this direction. It’s like: Who are thinking of first? Your feelings? Or oppressed or unhoused people?

Ed-I hear you. You’re dropping truth. That is reality. You’re talking about recognizing that the work, that servicing the people is what matters, not these petty contradictions and disagreements that people might have towards individuals. What matters is helping these people and being consistently present. From your experience, it sounds like you’re at a point where that community aid has advanced to a point where you have a network with unhoused folks and you’re actively helping them out in their personal decisions, getting them resources, helping the with money. That’s the goal, hopefully, as the Westlake table continues to grow. Of course, the conditions are different. Like you were saying--depending on the encampment and where it’s located, and I know you were talking about your own Silverlake encampments around there, people, I’m assuming, living on the sidewalk and around the apartments--from your experience from what you’ve seen and how you’ve talked to people like Dana at MacArthur, what’s the next step to getting more productive aid to the community at MacArthur? What do you think the community needs at this point besides what the tables providing right now?

Atom-People that have a lot of experience. For instance, you’ve been going to the CAT-911. People who have a lot of experience in that that can be on-call and present--all the time really. People that have experience in drug and narcotic use and self-medication, basically people who would think of working at rehabs and stuff, who could be on the ground and in the field and help providing services like that. Because a lot of these folks: I know that that’s a big thing. That’s a hurdle for many folks. I think a lot of times that being constrained to a building or a room and having all these rules gives people claustrophobia when they’re trying to kick habits. Most of the people I meet--and I know you’re trying to focus on MacArthur, but I haven’t talked to many of the people there so it’s hard to say--a couple of neighborhoods over from me are using consistently, and when we start talking about, they’re like, “Do you know a good rehab? I really need to stop doing this stuff.” And I’m like, “This place? This place?” And they’re like, “I’ve been there, been there--doesn’t work. Actually, nevermind.” So there needs to be a solution in that way with that particular difficulty with drug use. And people know it too, and I think that’s a possibility to make that happen. We just need to be creative about it and there definitely needs to be more--I would say--money for resources or if there are people that have this experience that have the capacity and time to devote to it then that is what’s needed there. So there’s that. The topic of drug use. And there’s also the topic of mental health. Often times with an individual those two topics--drug use and mental health--are interrelated, but not all the time! There are plenty of people that have mental health conditions that are not using any kind of drug at all, or maybe they need a particular one medication that would really help in balancing the equilibrium out for them and boom--they are able to start organizing their lives after that. We need people that are abolition-minded and have the experience in mental health and how to work with people that are able to be there at all times.

Ed-It sounds like you’re making those connections and building those crisis-response teams for people that are dealing with drug-related crisis and all other crisis. People that are having an episode and getting resources for them. This is an ongoing project that is not just exclusive to the table, but mutual aid groups throughout Los Angeles and everywhere. There isn’t a lot of resources besides referring people to rehabs and places that have their own protocols and confines. I heard from Elliot. He was talking about being in a transitional house while the pandemic was going on and how he got kicked out--he left pretty much--because they told him “If you’re going to stay at this house, you can’t leave at all.” And that was something that didn’t work for him. So by November, he decided to bounce and go mobile. So that sounds like the next move--adapting to people’s situation, instead of trying to put people in these supervised places that can sometimes add more stress onto the person’s life when the point is to try and help them get transitional housing or help the organize their own lives through long-term support. On that note: you have your hands all over the place--in your neighborhoods, hooked up with different mutual aid groups doing awesome work daily--what are your intentions at the table in MacArthur park? What do you seek to do, or want to see in the park when it comes to a particular type of action or aid that you think the table should start taking?

Atom-Well, honestly, for that table? I don’t know. Maybe Linh hasn’t been that clear about it, but for them? I’m trying to offer whatever little services here and there that can help their operation flow more smoothly. A lot of times I’m just transporting things to and from the place, and then once and while I will be there and stay there for the whole few hours when they have food and everything, especially if they’re like, “We only have two people coming this Saturday,” and I’ll be like, “Okay, I need to make sure I can be there this Saturday.” I’ve been focusing more on proximity around where I live, and then helping out with these little things. They’re deciding everything as they go, and I think they’re doing a great job. Im always available if there is some particular issue where they’re having trouble, and Linh or someone will share that with me and be like, “I can’t see a decision or consensus on this. What do you think?” And of course I’m down to offer my opinion on something. So for them I am auxiliary support.

Ed-Ye-yeah. And you do really good at that. From what I’ve understood from your situation, you’re always on the move, and you don’t really have that time to be at the table. And the point is not always to be on staff and waiting to be called on and report to the table. The idea is that the table can accumulate enough consistent members to be there, and the hope is to keep it local. How would you describe the table’s aid and the members of the table. Do you think the table itself is a strong source of support for the community or it has a lot of things to work on?

Atom-I think it’s definitely strong right now. I feel like this about this local I’m in too: it’s always in this state of “Oh, we’re just getting started. You just wait--we have all these grand plans on the way.” Given how many people are volunteering with it right now, it’s doing what it can do, which is actually quite a bit! I could see it ever-growing. I do think that for that people in that park, it’s definitely important for there always to be someone who is fluent in Spanish present and I think it’s important making sure the majority of volunteers there are bilingual with English and Spanish, because no matter what they’re doing you’re going to need someone that can speak Spanish. I think that’s super vital. And as far as my relationship there with a lot of the residents, it’s like: Yeah, even though I’m hardly there for an entire...section? What do you call it?

Ed-Distribution?

Atom-Yeah! A day of… tabling? <laughs> I recognize that a lot of the folks that come to the table and vice versa and know a lot of them by name. I swear if I meet someone there once, the next time they see me they’re like, “Hey! What’s up!” They remember me. I think that’s good. A lot of those folks don’t speak much English, or maybe none at all, so we get to know each other’s names, and as long as there is someone at the table who a spanish speaker, that completes the circuit of “Hey, we’re all here doing the same thing, and keep coming through here to share with us, educating us,” and the relationships can grow from there.

Ed-I hear you. That’s the move. Keeping it as a committed source and maintaining it. Yeah. My final question to you: In your own words, how would you describe the intent of the table and the mutual aid that is bubbling there? What do you think the ultimate goal is?

Atom-I think it’s to maximize the amount of tangible resources at something as small as a table that pops up twice a week for a few hours. And to expand on resources that go beyond that--such as seeking out housing for people, hooking people up with case workers or something. And then for the folks that come there that actually do live in apartments or some kind of shelter where they are tenants in a contractual agreement--which I think there is a fraction of folks there that come by this table, more so than the people that are closer to me; we go out there and make relationships with them and they are unhoused, living in tents, self-made structures and sometimes RVs; and I think there are more people at MacArthur Park and at the Westlake table that come from apartments and might have support from family--for us doing the table there in Westlake to ascertain what, if any, problems folks are encountering that environment. Probably landlord problems, facing evictions… and hooking them up with a tenants’ unions around the area. Which is happening! The tenants unions are present in the area and are working with folks!

Ultimate goals beyond that? I think other folks at the table that are doing more the planning and organizing with it--they should answer that question. That comes back to the subject that we’re all wrestling with: what is dual-power? Is that happening here? What are the characteristics of it? I think the folks at that community table/we are all pretty much on the same thought in acknowledging that the state is a failure for the people, so we’re trying to build a cohesive system of mutual aid amongst one another. I think it’s a lot of talking with as many people as possible and remember who is doing what and where and how so-and-so can help out so-and-so with their problems and bridging all these gaps. Like a network! The web, you know?

Ed-Ye-yeah.

Atom-I think there are so many things in people’s daily lives where it can get in their way. Where they can’t just sit there and think and say, “I need to stroll around my neighborhood and look for people that have this expertise and have this research on something” and see wha they need in return. Most people are trying to get a job and keep a job--the same capitalist bullshit, the rat race. So this table is there a couple days a week, offering their free time, functioning as an extra brain--each of us an extra brain--thinking about who we can connect to who.

Ed-Oh shit. That is the hope, yes. I know we’re still forming ourselves up. Like you said: it doesn’t really matter if we view ourselves as still figuring shit out, the table’s already matured and isn’t infantile. That sounds like what you’re doing. You’re making a network with different contacts so you can coordinate resource-gathering and meeting the needs of the people through support. It’s not like you’re the only one trying to coordinate stuff. And you’re saying that’s what the table should start working towards. Making those contacts and making a network in a broad sense: Tenant organizing, housing rights. The table acts as a support system and isn’t just giving people material and aid; it should be able to help people organize their own lives if they need that help and support. It sounds like it’s an ongoing thing. Hopefully, the next meetings we get into we start pushing that. And the working groups will have to confront that. “Let’s make these connections and reach out to other orgs instead of being on the idea of ‘Oh, we’re autonomous.’” That’s temporary.

Thank you so much for talking to me.

Atom-Of course!

Ed-Everything that you’ve told me--this is awesome. This will definitely help me write it. You’re coming from a--you may not consider yourself this way but I think you’re pretty OG at this point. Your organizing experience. You know what to do and have been doing the work for a while. That’s why I wanted to interview you and Linh at the end, because you’ve been hooked up with the table since April, since the table started, so you’ve seen it grow and you’ve been part of that development. Of course, you’re saying for a long time now you’ve taken a supporting role in getting shit to the park and having that be the source of support, but I was curious to learn what your evaluation of the park, because where you’re coming from and what you think the table needs to do. Thank you. This is awesome. 

Atom-Thank you, Eduardo!

Ed-Ye, ye-yeah :)

Atom-Yeahhh!

Ed-I’ll let you rest, and I got to bounce too.

Atom-Sounds good! All right!

Ed-Good night!

Atom-Talk to you soon!

Ed-Bye bye.