We are so happy to announce that our pilot-project, Building the Movement for Mutual Aid Training Tour, was a great success in spring 2018 – so much so that we are hustling to put together another in FALL 2018!  If you are interested in hosting a training, see links below.

This spring we visited over 30 communities, rural and urban, in 12 states traversing diverse bioregions, and we learned so much about disasters as varied as hurricanes, blizzards, and chemical accidents to pipelines, white-supremacy, and gentrification.  We encountered daunting challenges, but we persevered and worked together to find solutions – that’s what we do, right? – we are so grateful to everyone who fed, housed, and cared for us along this epic journey!

It was a powerful experience to connect more intentionally with our network. We went deeper with existing relationships, began to create exciting new possibilities, and we made a practical impact on local projects too, utilizing our resources and free time to haul housing structures into a pipeline blockade camp in Minnesota, to fetch drywall for an elder in need of house repairs in New Orleans, and to provide start-up medic kits to the Wolfpack Gunshot Response Team in Cleveland. We also assisted Water Protectors fighting the Bayou Bridge Pipeline at L’eau Est La Vie Camp in Louisiana, and rallied with Flint residents demonstrating against the state’s closing of free bottled water distribution while allowing Nestle to double their theft of water resources in Michigan.  We are currently working on a curriculum packet to empower you all to train yourselves – keep your eyes open for the next announcement!

Along the way, we have received even more requests for trainings, and tons of good ideas for follow-ups and continuing skill-sharing.  So we are not only booking a FALL TOUR in the West, but also gradually escalating our capacity and preparing our network for an ongoing STRATEGIC TRAINING CAMPAIGN – we all have skills to share, and so much more to learn from one another!  If you would like to request a visit from our “pilot-project” training team, or volunteer to give trainings in whatever skills you like to share, use these links:

 

** To request a visit to your community, use this form.

[we intend to visit about 10 states west of the Mississippi, but our exact route is still open to wherever we find interest – if we don’t make it to your community this time, we are planning multiple regional tours in 2019]

 

** To share your skills with other communities, use this form.

[we don’t yet have a plan to execute follow-up trainings, just a lot of interest and excitement – please be patient… or better yet, volunteer to join the training working group and help us make this exciting vision a reality!]

 

** If you have training or facilitation skills, a love of travel, and free time in Aug-Nov, we may need more trainers for this tour, and definitely for future regional tours.  Please write directly to [email protected] for more info.

 

Or, to connect with others who are wrestling with these same subjects right now, there is a “Crisis Convening” in Newark, New Jersey, July 13-15. Folks involved with Occupy Sandy and many other local orgs from all around the country will share skills and lessons learned, consider ways to more intentionally promote equity and justice through modern crisis response, and build resources to support this work.

** To register for the Crisis Convening, use this form.

[deadline approaching – Do it!  Right now! It’s going to be great 🙂 ]

 

We hope to connect with you soon, as we continue to build powerful relationships and connections between our strong, resilient, and sustainable communities.

 

With love and solidarity,

Tyler and the MADRelief Training Team