It was 2013 when Veronicka Vega moved to Woonsocket from Massachuesetts with her family for a better quality of life due to the ‘cheap rent’ the city had at the time. She has decided to stay in Woonsocket for over 10 years because ‘it feels like home, like I (Veronicka) belong’, despite the financial and educational challenges she has faced since living in the city.
Veronicka currently works for the City of Woonsocket in the Department of Planning Division of Housing and Community Development, where she does grant writing and administration of federal funds from HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development). It is through her work with the city that Veronicka is directly impacting the community’s housing and legislative needs. The funding that the city receives from HUD has stipulations about the beneficiaries. All funding must be used for Woonsocket residents who are LMI (low- and moderate-income) or experiencing homelessness/at risk. In addition, her career also allows her to do projects (such as parks, elderly exclusive exercise programs, roads and more) that benefit the community or area where most people are LMI.
Veronicka expresses that working for the city is one of her greatest accomplishments, as she is able to make the most of her work while also connecting with people, telling them about Woonsocket, and most importantly helping residents. However since living in the city she misses the sense of family and togetherness that she had at “home”. Growing up with a Puerto Rican father and an African American, Irish and English mother, Veronicka grew up mixed racially and culturally. She loved the latino parties from her community, where EVERYONE was invited (neighbors, ex-boyfriends and girlfriends, you name it). She misses the hospitable community she grew up with, which is what she feels Woonsocket is lacking. “Everyone is in their own little communities and don’t come together”, Veronicka would like to see changes in the city’s communities’ connection to one another, wanting us all to come together.