This is a humanitarian crisis, and so all people without shelter in this pandemic should be considered refugees.
On 14 March, inspired by the amazing mutual aid mobilisations throughout Turtle Island [what my community call North America] I contacted a local street medic crew to see about interest in initiating a localised project. That was the spark we needed. The framework for mutual aid groups was already established, we just needed a model to draw and build from. It happened organically as an extension of work we had been doing out of Táala Hooghan Infoshop [an Indigenous-run resource centre in Flagstaff, Arizona] since 2007.
We built a Facebook group and Google form, and borrowed from the DC Mutual Aid framework of establishing a Hub (to coordinate volunteers and requests), a supply site (Táala Hooghan Infoshop) and delivery (from the volunteer forms). We scoured the web for the best protocols, compiling enough info and resources to spring into action.
