Veronica

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

Veronica-Hi I’m Veronica Maccari. I’m an actor, filmmaker, I come from Italy. I have been living in the US for 7 years on an Artist Visa. Lived in Virginia and New York, and now I have been in LA for 3 years now. 

Ed-What do you do everyday when you're not at the table ?

Veronica-You know right now with the pandemic a lot of things are shifting, I’m mainly an actor and a writer--I also teach an in person stage comedy class for an Arts Conservatory. Right now we are all online, which is definitely a challenge, but even though our classes are very unusual on zoom the kids really appreciate the play aspect ! I teach a lot and I work on my creative stuff, and when I have time I volunteer here once a week.

Ed-How would you say your experience has been so far since you started volunteering ? 

Veronica-I joined the table during the christmas holiday, at a time that I was unfortunately a little stuck. I couldn’t go back to Italy, I couldn't see my family, I felt alone and useless in a way...So I realized that I am responsible for the time I have and I can do what I want with it whatever way I want to. I felt that I had to take a risk and leave my home, I think helping others was like the best reason to do that, and I think it was worth the risk and time. In the holidays when I had more time off from my work I realized that I crave for that community aspect, for that communal feeling of helping each other out that you lose when you are so isolated. So I took that time to not only worry about myself and my problems, instead I can dedicate my time to help people that are less privileged than me. 

Ed-That seems to be the general consensus with the volunteers here, committing to an action and helping the community in a material way. What are some encounters and experiences that you have had with the people at the park ? 

Veronica-They have been extremely lovely ! I am a young woman living by myself in a foriegn country so I have gotten used to being on alert mode when I’m around and about so for example ‘I  usually don’t avert people’s eyes on the street and I just keep walking !’ I was a little intimidated when I started volunteering here because instead of avoiding people I was actively engaging with them ! This has been such a lovely surprise to see that everyone is so happy that we are here ! They are so incredibly respectful and the only thing they want is our respect, they really appreciate the work we do. There is no malicious mood at any time, and appreciate that a lot. In a way I feel appreciated as a person instead of feeling targeted as a young woman while I’m on the street minding my own business. Being here helping feels very purposeful and I think everyone appreciates that sentiment.

Ed-The feeling of social alienation seems to be what you're talking about, being in a country that is different and abrasive, but that feeling withers away because you're engaging with folks through material aid. What are some conversations you have had with people here ? 

Veronica-I have had a few conversations that have made me realize the cool aspect of the community we have at the table is about community care, not just helping them, as us and them, no we are helping one another as part of the same community. We are very cognizant that everyone here is trying to survive. We know that we are not superior to that experience and we frame ourselves as such, we are just only more privileged. We really want to interact with the people here, so I make an effort to maintain eye contact with people and “ask them how they are doing ?” instead of leaving them to just pick up their essentials. I try to make conversation with them, but of course some are in a rush and have jobs and need to go on their merry way after they pick up what they need. Our intent is to be of support to the community here and not only in a material way, we want to be an ear to their voices and offer up that space for conversations.

Ed-So the intent is to acknowledge folks as people and offer your time to be a source of support to their struggles, material or emotional. Slight gestures to express respect and attention as simple as looking people in the eye and checking in on them the voices is your way of practicing community care, which comes back to what you're saying about coming to the community and giving this aid to support them. 

Veronica-Most volunteers are actually from the community and live around here, so they are a part of the Westlake community. I am kind of a wild card because I live in Nohoe so I travel here in a car and take up to an hour, but in LA times that doesn’t really matter. Though I don’t live around the corner I happened to get hooked up with the table through my friend who volunteers here. Still my friend and I still feel we are a part of the community by being active and being engaged. 

Ed-What are your intentions for the table ? 

Veronica-A consistent presence is the goal, we are here wednesday morning and saturday midday, but we want people to know that we are here for them, not just to give and say “bye !” We want to keep communicating with people that we want to be here as often as possible, like letting people know that we will return in three to four days to be back at the park--we want people to know that we are a part of the community and we are here to be with them. We hope people can rely on us as members of the community. 

Ed-Has covid impacted a lot of the table’s action or plans ?

Veronica-I wasn’t part of the table when the pandemic started, a year ago my life was completely different so I don’t know how the table was doing before the pandemic. Still I think the table became more important during the pandemic because the feeling of alienation has increased along with the present fear of steering away from people to avoid infection. The sentiment of avoiding people and pretending they don’t exist has become an entitled headscape in these times, so having the table in the pandemic was a powerful decision. Before I joined the table a couple of months passed that I was super careful about going outside and I was scared about being around people, I protizred only going outside when I needed to. Now I think all of us have come to the point that we know this situation won’t be ending anytime soon, so we need to find ways to be a meaningful part of society and take calculated risks to do our part.

Ed-What is the shared motivation of the volunteers at the table ?

Veronica-I think we all want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. After spending 8 hours on your laptop at home,  you realize that you don’t matter besides the productivity you produce, the small or big things in our life matter, but as people we have more values then what we do at work. I found the value of the things in my life through a sweater, I had this sweater that I kept in the closet for so long and while I appreciate the sweater, going unused is squadring the potential of the sweater, someone else could use that sweater and appreciate the value of the thing more than I can--which is why being in the space has taught me to value my stuff more and prioritizing the needs of others in need more in my life.