Happy September!

It’s hard to believe that we are already in the final third of the calendar year. The coldest months are yet to return for most. For many, this time is full of complexities, obligations, and intense emotion.

Taking Care of Our Communities is Important.

But for most of us, taking care starts with ourselves and our families, first. Especially in the Autumn and Winter, when warmth isn’t free and celebrations are costly. So, where do you go for support when signs of Autumn are on the horizon, or Winter unexpectedly comes early? In other words:

Who can you rely on when tough times are ahead, or a crisis arises?

This Isn’t a Trick Question.

Some of us have parents who we know will welcome us home, no matter the situation. Others of us made irreplaceable friendships in college or out in the world, with people who will drop anything and fly across the Earth, if it means supporting us through something difficult. Some of us have no one, or have to rely on the heartfelt kindness of strangers, for survival. Knowing who is there to support you helps to foster your own ability to help others. Those who feel fully supported are better able to go out and give support.

Where do People go When There’s No One to Support?

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot, recently, are the different ways that we treat White versus BBIA people, who access supportive funds. Even further; the way that White and BBIA people tend to have disproportionate access to emergency support or funds (NAACP, 2024). Under capitalism, loss, lack of, or gaps in funding can be a death sentence.

Poverty impacts people of all divides. Yet, White families’ wealth continues to grow tens of times more often and more rapidly than BBIA families’ (FederalReserve.GOV, 2023). And the most extreme differences exist between White families and Black families, when it comes to wealth (FederalReserve.GOV, 2023).

When difficulty arises, this means that White families are much more financially equipped to:

• Take care of unexpected financial burdens without risk of imminent loss of necessities like food, water, or shelter.

• Continue to provide extra experiences, holidays, and gifts for their children/family members, despite increases to annual cost of living or financial expectations.

• Get approved for financial assistance and loans through banks, credit unions, schools, and other publicly praised institutions.

• Rely upon interest-free generational wealth and personal loans among White family and friends, that otherwise maintains the proximity of Whiteness to excess wealth.

  When difficulty arises for Black families, accessing support more often looks like:

• Picking and choosing which financial responsibility to care for, and which to neglect. Even if that means going without lights, heat, water, food, shelter, etc.

• Sacrificing having extra experiences (vacations, field trips, birthday cakes, etc.), holidays, and gifts for their children/family members, to combat inflating costs and emergency financial burdens.

• Getting approved for extremely limited financial assistance and loans through government programs, non-profit organizations, community outreach locations, and other publicly under-resourced and stigmatized institutions.

• Creating a personal fundraising campaign in hopes of raising funding, independent of or to supplement the systems that have caused you continuous hardship, knowing that you will likely still go without.

These are the Reasons that Mutual Aid and Community Care are Important.

If we are privileged enough for ourselves and our families to be taken care of, materially and emotionally, where can we offer support?

Maybe you consistently have $5/month to give to someone who is un-housed, on a street near your home, school, or workplace. Maybe you work at a bank, and have the influence to propose a new loan/direct aid program for BBIA families in crisis. Maybe you send your kid off to school each day with an extra packed lunch, for the front office to hold, in case someone shows up hungry. If we look around us, get creative, and dream bigger than capitalism, we can support each other through the most foreshadowing Autumns, and overbearing Winters.

If you find yourself ready to explore more questions like these, or to otherwise create a space dedicated to offering values-aligned support, email me to schedule a FREE life and liberation coaching session today: [email protected]!