#MutualAidDisasterRelief

1 post1 participant0 posts today

Firestorm BooksAt the end of last year, while reading Rebecca Solnit's "A Paradise Built in Hell," many of us encountered the idea of "post-traumatic growth"—a sort of inverse PTSD, where individuals experience increased resilience, strengthened relationships, and personal empowerment as a result of a traumatic event. Excited by this phenomenon (and our own brush with it), a member of our reading group has worked with a friend in clinical psychology to facilitate a presentation and deeper conversation about the power of community in uncertain times.Please join us on Tuesday at 6:30pm for an in-person discussion and workshop that draws on academic research and our own experiences as disaster survivors to explore the idea of post-traumatic growth!More information can be found at <a href="https://firestorm.coop/events/3381-together-we-rise.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://firestorm.coop/events/3381-together-we-rise.html</a><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PostTraumaticGrowth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PostTraumaticGrowth</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PTSD" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PTSD</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HurricaneHelene" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#HurricaneHelene</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MutualAid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MutualAid</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MutualAidDisasterRelief" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MutualAidDisasterRelief</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WeKeepUsSafe" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WeKeepUsSafe</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FeministBookstore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FeministBookstore</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FirestormCoop" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FirestormCoop</a> (- L)

Firestorm BooksNext weekend Firestorm will be hosting author David Vaina for an in-person conversation with local Appalachian organizers about his new book "On-Ramps to a New Civil Society: Mutual Aid at the Edges of the Anthropocene," an autonomist reimagining of labor, value, mutual aid, and revolution. They'll discuss the present moment of institutional decline, where a political void has emerged in addressing our collective needs, and how mutual aid can contribute to the development of a radically new society.Learn more and find copies of "On-Ramps to a New Civil Society" at <a href="https://firestorm.coop/events/3331-mutual-aid-revolution-a-conversation-with-david-vaina.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://firestorm.coop/events/3331-mutual-aid-revolution-a-conversation-with-david-vaina.html</a>.<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MutualAid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MutualAid</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DualPower" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#DualPower</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MutualAidDisasterRelief" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MutualAidDisasterRelief</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HurricaneHelene" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#HurricaneHelene</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FeministBookstore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FeministBookstore</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FirestormCoop" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FirestormCoop</a> (- L)

Firestorm BooksNew hours! ⏰ New operations! 📋Early last week, as more capacity came online for distribution of relief supplies in our neighborhood, we made the decision to begin winding down our own distro operations and shift focus to reopening. This will allow us to serve as a space with resources needed by long term grassroots efforts related to both Hurricane Helene and preexisting challenges within our community.Beginning today, and continuing for at least the next two weeks, Firestorm will be open to the public every day from 3pm to 7pm. We will also be making our space available outside of those hours for community events and other activities, particularly in relation to disaster relief. If you are part of a grassroots group that needs a warm, welcoming spot for coworking, meeting, or an event, hit us up!Although we are no longer operating as a distro, Firestorm will continue to maintain a small inventory of supplies for neighbors, and we'll remain an access site for non-potable water from Be Well AVL (@bewellavl). We also plan to offer potable water with support from Distribute Aid (@distributeaid) and help staff the new Mutual Aid Switchboard, created with others in the Mutual Aid Disaster Relief network (@mutualaiddisasterrelief).<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HurricaneHelene" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#HurricaneHelene</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateChange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ClimateChange</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MutualAidDisasterRelief" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MutualAidDisasterRelief</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MutualAid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MutualAid</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/QueerSouth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#QueerSouth</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FeministBookstore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FeministBookstore</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FirestormCoop" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FirestormCoop</a> (- L)

Firestorm BooksThe morning Hurricane Helene hit Asheville, members of our collective sat in the dark, listening to the howling wind and the crack of huge trees falling all around. When we emerged Friday evening to take stock, a cardboard sign on our co-op’s door read “Community meeting here, Saturday at 2pm. Let’s talk about how we can take care of each other + community.” That first autonomous act by an anonymous neighbor set the stage for the week, with Firestorm becoming a container for other people’s brilliant, beautiful, and generous self-organizing.About forty people attended the first meeting. Nearly four hundred attended the next one. The gatherings, now a daily anchor, have generated a multitude of connections and volunteer powered projects. Before city officials had finished assessing the damage, community members were sharing supplies, doing wellness checks, and serving hot meals. Over the next few days, things became more organized. Anarchist arborists collected chainsaws and dispatched crews to clear roads for trapped residents; activists mobilized to build long term water distribution systems capable of delivering 6k gallons/day; bike punks offered free repair clinics; a farmer began driving regular water supply loops to Firestorm from a nearby spring; and an enthusiastic DIY-er set up a tent to distribute dry toilets made from affordable materials.In the midst of this anarchic moment, Firestorm isn’t setting the agenda or directing anyone—we’re offering a space that welcomes independent initiative, we’re supporting the exchange of critical information, and we’re modeling a do-it-ourselves approach that’s responsive, experimental, and human-scale.Yes, government and NGO aid is now flowing into the region—but the work of caring for one another continues to be done by neighbors, grassroots organizations, small businesses, and activists. It’s done voluntarily, with thousands of autonomous actions synchronized through a shared solidarity. For a brief moment, the logic of the capitalist market is suspended, care is given freely, and everyone contributes what they can.It’s a strange paradox that the utopia we dream of becomes most visible in the dark.<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HurricaneHelene" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#HurricaneHelene</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MutualAid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MutualAid</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Anarchism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Anarchism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Cooperativism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Cooperativism</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MutualAidDisasterRelief" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MutualAidDisasterRelief</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FeministBookstore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FeministBookstore</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FirestormCoop" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FirestormCoop</a>

Firestorm BooksWe're four days into the most significant natural disaster in the recorded history of our region. Our community is experiencing an ongoing crisis created by infrastructural collapse and the profound failure of capitalism to value and sustain life. No state or federal aid has yet reached Asheville, but all around us we're seeing regular people acting autonomously to address immediate needs and meet one another with care. We hope to write soon about the beautiful and resourceful things we've witnessed.Our co-op is physically intact and our members are accounted for. Although we've fared better than many, we're experiencing this crisis physically and emotionally. We're exhausted, largely without power, water, or internet. Cell service is poor, and when we are able to connect, the volume of information is overwhelming. Right now our priority is supporting and facilitating mutual aid efforts and we ask for your patience as we cannot keep up with emails, texts, and DMs.Firestorm will continue to act as an in-person resource and information hub over the coming days, with staffing from noon to 4pm. A daily meeting at 2pm serves as a space for neighbors to get verified updates and coordinate mutual aid efforts. Other hubs have arisen organically in other parts of town and we're doing our best to share and connect resources.If you would like to donate to grassroots recovery efforts, please send funds to our friends at <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MutualAidDisasterRelief" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MutualAidDisasterRelief</a> (<a href="https://bit.ly/donatemadr" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/donatemadr</a> or Venmo @/MutualAidDisasterRelief), who are already on the ground, or local organizers (Venmo @/AppMedSolid or Cash App $pansycollective with "Flood Support" in the memo), who have been caring for our community 365 days/year.We are not able to process web orders or ship inventory. If you'd like to support our co-op, we enthusiastically welcome book orders through our website, but please understand that we cannot provide an estimate on shipping.<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HurricaneHelene" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#HurricaneHelene</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MutualAid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MutualAid</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Asheville" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Asheville</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WesternNorthCarolina" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WesternNorthCarolina</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FeministBookstore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FeministBookstore</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/QueerSouth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#QueerSouth</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FirestormCoop" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FirestormCoop</a> (- L)

It's Going DownFrom <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MutualAidDisasterRelief" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MutualAidDisasterRelief</a>, mutual aid hub set up in the wake of Hurricane Idalia in Appalachees, so-called Big Bend, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Florida" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Florida</a>.

Recent searches

Search options

Administered by:

Server stats:

#MutualAidDisasterRelief