OOPS! All Mutual Aid

@oopsallmutualaid.bsky.social

Sharing stories of, and resources for, mutual aid organizing. Solidarity, not charity. Run by @tutusntinyhats.bsky.social. Profile pic by N.O. Bonzo for JustSeeds

I spoke to the mutual aid groups and mask blocs combatting the spread of COVID and viral illness by freely distributing masks and tests and lending out air purifiers — who nationally have now distributed thousands of masks for wildfire smoke, too, amid an anti-public health admin @us.theguardian.com

How clean air clubs are protecting Americans from wildfire smoke

Mutual aid groups that started giving out PPEs during COVID are now loaning air purifiers and distributing masks to fume-addled communities

theguardian.com

Chicago’s Brave Space Alliance recently joined our HRT Toolkit Project as an assembly hub - here’s a few snaps from their recent kit build 🏳️‍⚧️✊ Thank you to all the incredible folk there for demonstrating what true community looks like!

Two volunteers assemble HRT kits at a table, putting supplies into ziploc plastic bags. One of the people has brown curly hair and is wearing a yellow and green 'Brasil' shirt. The other has dark brown hair tied in a bun, and wears glasses and a black dress. 

Rainbow metallic streamers line the wall behind themA volunteer in a yellow and green 'Brasil' t-shirt sorts supplies and assembles them into HRT kits packed in plastic ziploc bags. A clear plastic fruit cup sits on the table tooA table covered with assembled HRT kits in plastic ziploc bags, with large open cardboard boxes behind them.

Sunday morning community fridge stocking. Chickpea curry with rice. Also brought peanut butter, tuna, tomato sauce, spaghetti, zucchinis, oranges, tomatoes, and orange peppers. Gal I see regularly, always wears a mask (surgical). Stashed some better ones in my glove compartment, connected today.

Takeout containers packed with chickpea curry and rice on the side.

If you work in an office, on a film set, or hold events regularly, pick up pre-cut foil & a sleeve of containers with secure lids and get to know your local mutual aid folks or identify your closest community fridge. I just packed up breakfast for 30 from a film shoot that wrapped quickly.

15 delicious foil, wrapped packages and in aluminum tray, full of rice and beans.

In 1980 people in Cambridge, Massachusetts began serving free vegan meals outside a bank to protest military spending while people went hungry. 45 years later there are hundreds of Food Not Bombs chapters across 65+ countries recovering and sharing food that would otherwise be wasted.

By - HOGRE - - FOOD NOT BOMBS, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=141123021

UPDATE: If we can close out this fundraiser, we can cover all the remaining needs! 💸🏘️ Please share, and donate: NeighborReliefFund.org ICE is still abducting our neighbors in Minnesota. Many families are struggling with separation from loved ones and loss of income, and rent is due on August 1. ✊💖

🐚 Shell-bee 🐝 Cap-HOT-cio 🥵🚫🧊 [Feral Edition]@virtuistic.bsky.social · 2w ago

📢 END OF THE MONTH RENT FUNDRAISING IS NOW! #MutualAid 🏘️💸: NeighborReliefFund.org We have neighbors in Minnesota who still need help. Every dollar donated goes directly to keeping families housed and covering essential bills. ✊💖 Please give if you can, and share widely! #HelpSky #StandWithMN

Having these supplies pre-positioned meant they could reach affected communities in days instead of weeks. Storing aid around the country also means donations can be accepted whenever they’re available, and leftover items are ready to be used for the next disaster rather than going to waste.

Multiple boxes and a sealed bag of blue disposable nitrile gloves stacked on a table

A recent warehouse fire in West Virginia left nearby communities dealing with toxic smoke and hazardous residue even after the fire was put out. Thanks to supplies we had pre-positioned in Atlanta, a volunteer was able to drive masks and gloves up to support the clean-up response.

A metal wheelable shelving unit with stacked cardboard boxes and plastic storage bins of N95 masks. Two people stand on either side, with only their hands visible as they move the rack.

That’s why we continue to strengthen a network of grassroots partners across the US, building community resilience and disaster preparedness, coordinating mutual aid responses, and supporting long-term recovery. Because preparedness saves lives, and when governments fail to act, communities step up

Shelves of donations packed in cardboard boxes labelled with items like shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, and hairbrushes. 

Behind the shelves is a wall covered in colorful handwritten notes and cards

🚛 Shipment delivered 🇩🇪 Hamburg → 🇫🇷 Calais We recently helped @lacapuchemobilisee deliver 1000 tents and 500 sleeping bags to refugees and people on the move in Calais.

Three young women pose inside the open back of an empty truck while a man leans over to adjust something on the right hand side of the vehicle