Health. It’s everything. This month’s theme for our Community Supported Action is health.
We didn’t wish for it to be so prescient. But here we are. |
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We’ve been told our whole lives: “If you don’t have your health…you don’t have anything.” And yet if you don’t have health care, a decent job, education, opportunities, a less polluted environment…it’s hard to have your health. |
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We wish it didn’t take a global pandemic to talk about guaranteed access to affordable healthcare, communities of color on the frontlines of both the aid and the afflicted, and what it means to shelter in place when you don’t have shelter. But here we are. For years, whole populations have been mostly invisible in the conversation on health. The homeless population and those suffering from addiction are often blamed for their health issues rather than looking at the conditions (or actions/inactions) that led to the situation. While everyone is currently focused on Covid-19, communities already dealing with high health risks are all the more vulnerable, both to the coronavirus and having valuable resources diverted away during this time of crisis. |
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This month we highlight VOCAL-NY |
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VOCAL-NY is a New York based organization dedicated to providing vital harm reduction services to people who use drugs, and active campaigns to defend bail reform, end overdose, expand affordable housing, and win other critical resources for low-income communities across New York. VOCAL-NY looks at root causes and pushes for advocacy while offering direct services to those that need them most. |
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We met VOCAL-NY on the street campaigning side by side to get people to stop and talk about the state of the world and the world they'd want to live in. We chose to highlight VOCAL-NY even before this crisis, because of their on-the-ground work– especially regarding viruses that still ravage communities with limited resources- HEP C & HIV– and their comprehensive look at the drug epidemic as a health crisis, without kid gloves or pity, but compassionate action. |
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Vocal-NY has not stopped supporting communities most vulnerable to the present situation, with care and advocacy. They need your support more than ever. If you aren’t already part of our CSA, join now. (Every organization gets a check every month, ensuring everyone gets the same amount- so we’ll continue to support VOCAL-NY every month through 2020) |
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VOCAL-NY needs immediate resources to help: • Get them the digital tools they need to transition some of their work during this time. • Proactively reach out to members, many of whom are at-risk of serious complications from COVID-19, to walk them through appropriate safety and hygiene measures, teach them how to address any rising health concerns, and develop plans to self-quarantine if they are at risk. • Distribute basic medical & hygiene supplies to members, many of whom are street-based or live in shelters. • Maintain a sense of community for their members, including continuing to engage them on political action to become part of the solution (signing petitions, completing the census, calling elected officials, etc). • Be ready to respond to COVID-19 related abuses & advocacy needs for people living with HIV, people who use drugs, people who are homeless, and those impacted by incarceration. History tells us these same populations will be left behind by whatever solutions are put forth in the coming months and days, and advocacy will be necessary to ensure their health and safety is prioritized. |
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Or donate to them directly. HERE. Follow them on instagram and twitter. Their work is immediate and long-term. |
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Who decides what that means? Free from a highly contagious unpredictable virus? Free from high blood pressure, low cholesterol, no cancer, the optimum weight, free of (the 'wrong kind' of) drugs? Is your health at the expense of someone or something else? What about emotional health, spiritual health, mental health? Creative health?Those are harder to measure, especially collectively. |
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Is the ideal health able-bodiest? Sexist? Classist? Who's to say if what’s considered a disability creates a super ability because of it? Why are time-proven remedies from grandmothers often dismissed while some new FDA approved drugs that produce irreparable damage don't get scrutinized? It's too simplistic to claim Elderberry cures the flu and the health industry is only concerned with profit. There’s no magic formula and there's no one culprit. Like everything, it's about balance. Access. Diversity of intelligence. More people represented and more of life considered in assessing one population's needs. |
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Health is holistic. It includes access to resources, including community and culture, air and green space, fresh food and quality preventative health care. |
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Thank YOU as always for your support. Please stay healthy and safe and continue to support those around you however you can. | | |
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