Background: COVID-19 is revealing the failures of the economic and political systems of the United States. Amid this unprecedented public health crisis, mutual aid networks are sprouting up across Long Island in an effort to help those who continue to be left behind by our institutions.
Purpose: Cooperation Long Island serves to bring together community-based organizations, base-building groups, service non-profits, jail advocates, immigrant rights groups, reproductive healthcare providers, faith organizations, and other community leaders to identify and support the diverse needs of the Long Island community, while centering the needs of traditionally marginalized communities, in the face of COVID-19 through outreach, information sharing, direct service, and policy change that both meets immediate needs and secures structural wins beyond this crisis.
Long Island is an enormous geographic territory and we aim to be a coordinating body for numerous mutual aid efforts, serving as a value add for generating resources and supporting initiatives already in operation. There's a lot of area to cover and many communities to support, so we encourage the participation of as many formations as possible.
We must use this crisis as an opportunity to continue building the world we've always known we've needed through solidarity, cooperation, and mutuality.
What we do:
- Through relational organizing, engage in direct outreach to networks of diverse communities on Long Island in order to understand immediate support that is needed. These communities include but are not limited to Indigenous populations, low-income communities, currently & formerly incarcerated individuals, immigrant & undocumented community members, Black & Brown neighborhoods, marginalized genders, disabled & neurodiverse communities, and the elderly.
- After identifying community needs, we mobilize the network to pool or connect the necessary human and monetary resources to service those needs, whether they be the collection of food, medical, or cleaning supplies, pickup and drop off of materials, emotional support, fundraising, or connection to local, state, and federal resources related to healthcare, labor, or financial concerns.
- In addition to identifying needs, engage in direct outreach to local businesses, parent groups, community organizations, and more, to spread the word about our coordination efforts and state any help we need in achieving our goals.
- Manage an ever-growing database of community needs, available resources, and volunteer offerings.
- Welcome and support new participants to the collective by plugging them into efforts based on their interests and skill set, as well as provide the tools/information necessary to empower them to take on leadership roles to expand our capacity to do work throughout Long Island.
- Communicate regularly through phone calls, Slack, and email in order to forward our collective efforts.
- Create working groups to bottom-line particular projects or initiatives as they arise.
- Forward policy/program demands to fill gaps in services from existing government or private sector programs.
