TIA #53: Building Resilience Outside a System in Crisis

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Welcome, to This Is America, January 16th, 2018.

In this episode, we caught up with two groups of people that are actively organizing mutual aid and survival programs in their cities, to provide listeners with some possible ideas for practical organizing and intervention, especially in the context of the government shutdown and the upcoming #J20 weekend of action.

First up, we talk with two members of W.I.L.D. (Worker’s Initiative for Liberation and Defense) out of Colorado Springs in Colorado, about their ongoing free store and community meal, that is currently bringing together around 300 people each month against backdrop of gentrification and increasing sweeps of homeless camps in the local area.

Millions of SNAP (food stamps/EBT) users have been warned to "plan your food budget knowing that these benefits will be the only benefits provided through the end of February," if the #Shutdown continues. https://t.co/e0kgig17Fu

— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) January 17, 2019

Next, we talk with two people involved in the South Bend Commons, a community center in Atlanta, Georgia that serves as a meeting space and hub for a neighborhood food program. We talk about the context of the program in a city that has made it harder to get food stamps and in an area that is historically a food desert. We also discuss ways in which the program is connected with similar hubs and projects, how it hopes to expand in the future, and how people might go about replicating something like it.

This #J20, people are organizing everything from free grocery programs, to discussions on health autonomy, to trainings at local firing ranges. Amidst a backdrop of crisis, climate change, + shuttering services, our networks are mobilizing to respond. https://t.co/cW7wLYkEmo pic.twitter.com/C6SNrbOPKZ

— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) January 12, 2019

We then switch to discussing the headlines, talking about how we have now entered the fourth week of the government shutdown, increasing labor conflict from sickouts to teacher strikes, the possible cutting off of SNAP (food stamps) benefits for millions of people, as well as the latest scandals involving the Trump administration and what they could mean for the rest of us.

All this and more, and until next time, enjoy the interviews!