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With so many different things continuing to go on, some days it is easier to feel despair and lose hope. Activist and movement leader Ruby Sales said, “The question is not if it is foolish to hope. The question is what is it that we hope for?” Here at CTZNWell we are hoping for a brighter future laced with mutual aid and community care, where everyone has what they need. We hope for a democracy that lives up to our collective imaginations for liberation and our ideas are not considered radical but basic human needs.
In this week’s WELLREAD, we are revisiting Afghanistan and how deeply connected colonization abroad is tied to social justice here in our country. We are observing how amid the pandemic, the economy has become the driving force behind vaccinations, while millions nationwide are facing evictions. Women’s bodies are still being controlled with new rulings at state levels in their attempts to chip away at Roe v Wade and continued climate shift requires us to continue asking the right questions and supporting each other at the grassroots level.
Kennae (she/her)
Art by @rickfrausto
Imagine if we did not view the desire to provide universal healthcare to all as a radical idea but a human necessity. Instead we are noticing How Capitalism Has Made the World Sick. [[link removed]] [click to tweet] [[link removed]]
There are ongoing California fires and flooding along the Gulf Coast, Hurricane Ida and the Coming Eviction Crisis [[link removed]] almost appear foretelling of what is to come across the country. [click to tweet] [[link removed]]
Apparently, mask mandates violate personal freedom, but forced childbearing doesn’t. Texas has banned abortions and what it means for other states [[link removed]]. [click to tweet] [[link removed]]
Wars overseas and wars on drugs. It appears aggression is the most familiar tool colonizers exercise. This demonstrates How U.S Wars Abroad are Intimately Tied to Police Brutality At Home [[link removed]] [click to tweet] [[link removed]]
“Change is the heartbeat of social movement. But, on either side of change is loss... To have a movement that breathes, you must build a movement with the capacity to grieve.” How grief belongs in social movements. [[link removed]] [click to tweet] [[link removed]]
It is easier to lean into self care practices that create a sense of escape from all of the conditions we are witnessing around the world, but how does this contribute to our collective liberation? Or does it? As Ruby Sales shared, we find hope in the history. The history of people power when we took action. When we could agree if it was going to be, it was up to we. Visit this article, ‘Solidarity, Not Charity’: A Visual History of Mutual Aid [[link removed]] to reference the origins of mutual aid societies and groups of marginalized people coming together collectively throughout history. “The only way to survive is by taking care of each other”.
The Gulf Coast needs our support. On August 29, 2021 the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, parts of Louisiana and Mississippi braced themselves for flooding, rains and winds from Hurricane Ida. There are reports of power outages and months long waits for power and communication services to be restored. Here is how you can help now Storm Relief Fund [[link removed]] courtesy of Gulf South Rapid Response Community-Controlled Fund. To learn more about Gulf South, visit their website here [[link removed]].
Texas just got much more dangerous for the 15 million women who live there and the people who support their right to an abortion. This morning, SB8 went into effect without successful intervention from the courts (shocker). The law bans abortion after 6 weeks, and criminalizes those helping others access abortion services. Abortion funds are mutual aid. Donate HERE [[link removed]]to support front line organizations like @LilithFund @JanesDueProcess @BBFundTX @TEAfund @LaFronteraFund @FundTexasChoice @casnhtx @westfundtx @TheAfiyaCtr @TheBridgeTX
Art by @cori.lin.art
In case evictions and foreclosures were not enough on the housing crisis, the cost of purchasing a home has increased and income levels have not risen with inflation, which begs us to question who is being left behind? [[link removed]] While homeownership may not accessible to all, many people are being priced out of renting [[link removed]] in their local communities across the country.
The impending housing crisis is no longer a looming thought, it is here. This tracker [[link removed]] is providing details across the country about what mandates are currently in place and which are set to expire. The United Nations identifies adequate housing as a fundamental human right, defining it as “the right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity.” Here’s how Finland is making it possible [[link removed]].
Art by @Graphicadvocacy
Resmaa Menakem shares, “Trauma is not experienced individually, it happens communally. So healing, too, must happen communally.” There is an urgency around creating and making time for us to check in and be in community.
We look back to the wisdom shared on this CTZN podcast episode from last season, "Reaching for Each Other [[link removed]]” in collaboration with Faith Matters Network. Throughout this week, revisit ways you can check in on your people and support from your capacity for communal healing. We are reminded to show up for ourselves and each other and settling into what is present now.
Art by @Briestoner
CTZNWELL is community powered and crowd-sourced. That’s how we keep it real. Please consider joining us on Patreon [[link removed]] for as little as $2/month so that we can keep doing the work of creating content that matters for CTZNs who care.

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