Comedy
March 2020 will be forever known as the time that life on earth changed and not just for a day or a few days but for forever. In the USA we will often hear about how celebrities and famous athletes are coping. This is not to say they're not sacrificing or having to cope but what is more important to me are the stories of those who are not part of those elite groups. The playing field has been leveled and now, a good percentage of us, are on the same level. Rich, poor or in-between, we are all figuring this out one day at a time. I wanted to speak with someone for this first hour of interviews and stories who was already sacrificing so much prior to life stopping as we knew it. Haley Pollock was certainly someone who I knew would have an interesting take on life in the age of COVID-19. I've come to know Haley through the punk rock scene and she is certainly someone who does so much for those who are voiceless or not often heard. I think the following piece will give you an idea of who Haley is. (***at the time this was recorded, April 1, Punk Rock Bowling was only moved to the fall of 2020, it has since been canceled for this year and moved to 2021) *"Haley is in law school right now learning how to be a more effective activist and organizer in Los Angeles. She enrolled in law school to become a legal advocate for people traditionally exploited and mistreated by society and left out of the justice system. She participates in an immigration clinic as a law clerk and provides free direct legal services to people who qualify for humanitarian relief as the result of substantially physical or emotion violence. In her free time, Haley serves on a regional council for NARAL in Los Angeles where she helped gather local support for California policy initiatives by hosting community outreach events, canvasing for candidates endorsed by NARAL, and building coalitions with other non-profit organizations. In 2019, Haley helped get California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two NARAL-sponsored bills: the College Student Right to Access Act (SB 24), which makes California the first state in the nation to expand abortion access to college campuses, and the Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act (SB 464), which will save lives by addressing bias in reproductive health care and reducing California’s high rates of pregnancy-related deaths among Black women. Haley hosted an educational event a women-owned independent bookstore in Los Angeles where she discussed the passages of those two pieces legislation and engage activists in NARALs agendas for the 2020 campaign cycle. Haley is a board member on the Homeless prevention law project which ensures that vulnerable populations who utilize social services are being treated with respect and according to the guidelines of the health and human services department. She helped coordinate a book drive for the Jacaranda Foundation, and organization in Malawi that provides free education to 400 orphans who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS and was able to raised enough money to help build a library for the Malawi community. She also helped organize a book drive on campus to send to the school for students to use. She spent her 2019 summer as a volunteer legal clerk working with low- and no-income families on family law issues like divorce, paternal rights, custody, and domestic violence. She volunteered with the legal aid foundation in Santa Monica to provide free consultation and advice to indigent folks with housing issues. Haley also went to Downey City Council meetings to provide legal observation and reporting on the violence black lives matters (BLM-LA) activists encountered when trying to attend public meetings where they demanded justice for their murdered brothers by the Downey Police. She also attended Los Angeles demonstrations in support of the BLM-LA initiative #JackieLaceyMustGo and demanded accountability from the Los Angeles D.A. who, sin