Many thanks to Mutual Aid Medford and Somerville (MAMAS), and Dorchester Cares and who initiated creating these tools that we have adapted. To replicate it for your neighborhood, check out their how-to guide.
Welcome to the Roxbury mutual aid network! In the midst of the COVID scare, we are attempting to still show up for each other and remember that we are not alone. We created this space to connect with neighbors and support each other because we love our neighborhood and community. We don’t know how long this will last, but we know that we need to lean on one another. There are many people in this community who hold it together, and have held it together for a long time. We are starting this page to build on the work many people have started before this crisis, and to strengthen our community connection. None of us has experienced something exactly like this before, so we all have something to offer and we all have something we need. We are working out the details for this group, but we didn’t want perfect to be the enemy of the good. We are committed to continuing to engage block by block, neighbor by neighbor (in safe ways!) to make sure this is not only an online resource but something accessible to many folks in our neighborhood
We as neighbors are collecting information to stay current with changes in Lower Roxbury/South End and are trying to respond to needs, as well as organize resources, and support emerging neighborhood block networks.The info you provide will be directly uploaded into a public non-editable form that others can view and reach out to you directly for support. Please If you would like to respond to a need or offer that appears on this sheet, go ahead and reach out to the person listed. If you appear on the sheet and need to be edited, email us at RoxburyMutualAid@gmail.com to make changes (update needs, update information, remove from list).
There is no ask that is too big and no one will ever be shamed for asking for what they need.
Look at the https://bit.ly/offeringsroxbury, to see if someone is already offering the help that you need, and reach out to them! If you do not see what you need on this spreadsheet, you can add your information to this Needs form, and someone from the core team will follow up.
If you’d prefer not to add your name and contact information on the public spreadsheet, you can email us at roxburymutualaid@gmail.com with your request and we can add it to the sheet for you anonymously.
Block organizing
As things get harder, we show up for our neighbors. If this is work that you are already doing or want to commit to doing, we would love to support you and connect broadly across tRoxbury. As a block coordinator, you’d take on the responsibility of reaching out to your neighbors, checking in on what needs are arising on your block, coordinating group communication, and staying in touch with the coordinators from other blocks for resource pooling. We are trying to build a network of neighbors across Roxbury, as well as in connection with other mutual aid networks across the city. If you have been doing this or interested in starting this work, please indicate on the form from earlier or email RoxburyMutualAid@gmail.com.
Here is a template of a flyer you can use to spread the word throughout your community! Make sure to practice safe distancing and wear face masks when posting flyers. to make your own!
Help us build - We are looking for support: this was put together as working documents and we definitely need help from more people to get this thing going on the scale that we need. Here are some roles that need to be filled:
Spreading the word - We need to spread the word about what we’re doing in concise and clear ways to ALL parts of Lower Roxbury/the South End- help us make and distribute flyers, spread the word online, and reach out to other friends.
Translations/Language Justice - Please reach out if you have capacity to translate our materials into Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole, Hatiain Creole, Chinese, Somali, Amheric or any other languages as needed!
Local Orgs - Why reinvent the wheel? Lower Roxbury and the South End are filled with awesome organizations that already have tons of resources and skills. We want to form networks with them to maximize mutual aid! Help us reach out to existing networks and figure out how to power up together. Folks who helped organize this resource are affiliated with groups like Reclaim Roxbury ,Chester Square Area Neighborhood Association, Claremont Neighborhood Association, Showing Up for Racial Justice Boston, ACE, Boston Jobs Coalition, Right to the City and many more!
Fundraising - in the next couple days we are hoping to have a way for people to contribute to a fundraiser that will get redistributed to people who need support in the moment.
Something else! We are offering this as the beginning of how we support each other (imperfectly and always evolving) in our building, on our block, and in our neighborhood. We hope this can be a way to start to support each other not only through this moment but for the long haul, to make sure all of our folks can stay and thrive in the Lower Roxbury and South End. We are dreaming of a hotline! A way that Lower Roxbury and South End students who don’t have access to school lunches still get fed! Networks on every block! Childcare collectives! Your brilliant idea! Get in touch:
We got this