During and after the holiday season it’s incredibly easy to get sucked into the capitalistic view of the past week where the only important part is buying and giving material gifts to each other, so I’d like to focus our attention on post-holiday giving that would make more of an impact than any luxurious clothes or hobby materials. I’ve said in previous giving posts that I’m more than privileged enough to have three jobs (and haven’t been furloughed during COVID despite the imminent threat of economic collapse), a savings account, supportive family, and a home to live in. I’m also blessed to have received even more funds post-holiday that would be better directed toward people who need it more than I do. I love shopping for myself and giving gifts to my loved ones during the holidays is like an extreme sport to me, but I want to now focus on fund redistributions to folks who are in far greater need than I am. I work with our houseless community members on a daily basis, so I understand the needs and wants of the people I interact with and there are so many people who are struggling every day (even more so than what we see driving past our houseless neighbors). I’m equally passionate about working with houseless folks to meet their immediate and long term needs and uplifting and supporting incarcerated organizers in their struggle for freedom. For my post-holiday fund redistributions, I want to share the mutual aid groups and organizations I’ll be donating to with the first being Survived and Punished NY’s Mutual Aid Working Group that “supports incarcerated survivors of gender-based violence through sustained commissary support, care packages, visitation, and communication.” Critical Resistance organizes nationally “to stop prison construction, to mobilize communities impacted by the violence of policing, and to develop alternatives to punishment and repression that sustain the health and well-being of our families, neighborhoods, and communities.” Moms United Against Violence & Incarceration is based in Chicago and “is committed to abolition and organizing resources for incarcerated moms,” and the group is raising funds to provide incarcerated moms with phone calls, toiletries, and other commissary needs. I’m not Catholic or religious at all, but one of my organizing friends Wally Inglis runs a homeless outreach program called Wallyhouse through St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Kalihi. At Wallyhouse (named in Wally’s honor), folks in need have access to “a hot lunch every Tuesday [for guests], a daily food pantry, mail address, device charging, a prayer wall and a peace garden.” I hope you’ll consider giving to some or all of these organizations as no community is at a loss of suffering people. We will always keep each other safe and cared for and these orgs do just that!
