Solidarity and Access fund at Third Root

[Black, white and grey graphic of a bunch of sunflowers wrapped with ribbons and a circle of letters which reads, "Solidarity" "We are all we really have"] Image credits: Roger Peet Justseeds.org


Third Root Community Health Center is currently pooling money to raise $20,000 by August 1st for solidarity and accessibility to sustain our virtual classes, workshops and courses. Your contribution of any amount will go a long way toward supporting those most acutely impacted within the dual pandemic of COVID and systemic anti-Black racism. We are offering solidarity & accessibility in these concrete ways:


1) Free unlimited access for Black people in our classes, workshops & courses. Though we typically offer donation-based, sliding scale and NOTA (No one turned away for lack of funds) for our offerings, we decided to take an extra step to show solidarity at this time with the Movement 4 Black Lives and uplift the calls of the Black Lives Matter movement. (Check out our official statement here: https://thirdroot.org/Black-lives-matter/ ). We will continue this free offer for our virtual programming for the foreseeable future, and are thinking strategically about how we can bridge this offer into our reopening phase. 


2) ASL, captions and language interpretation for our classes, workshops & courses. With the advent of Third Root's virtual programming, we are focused on access more than ever. The time is right for us to prioritize expanding access to our disabled community, d/Deaf and hard of hearing folks, speakers of multiple languages, and those who have limited mobility. As we consider reopening, we will continue to center these and other access needs to ensure we are truly reaching everyone in our community with the different forms of care we all need.


3) Third Root Mutual Aid via Herbal Education program Since NYC's quarantine began in March, we've focused on responsiveness to the needs of our community, particularly those who Black, brown, queer & trans and are experiencing homelessness. Here's how:  

Third Root's Herbal volunteers or ' Rootlets', have worked together to create care packages filled with DIY masks, gloves, homemade journals, cookies, art, and herbal remedies for queer and trans homeless youth.

We have also been working to support  G.L.I.T.S. by putting together 'Release & Relief' bags with food, phones, money, clothes, treats, PPE, & herbal care for trans & other LGBTQ folks being released from Rikers Prison. 

In addition, the Rootlets created an herbal tincture called Power & Ease, to support Black community members. It is available for curbside pick up, see details here (https://thirdroot.org/black-lives-matter/ )
 

COVID-19 has already had a serious impact on our most vulnerable communities. Paired with the most recent protests against state-violence and police brutality, we recognize that Black communities are facing a two-fold health crisis and that this is not new or unprecedented information. This time will also have a lasting effect on our mental, physical and spiritual health as individuals and as a community. Third Root has historically challenged systemic health disparities and hierarchies within healthcare and has provided a model of care that grows out of love. More than ever, we need to come together to support and care for one another.  This gofundme aims to ensure that Third Root can continue to provide mutual aid, accessible spaces and free of cost services. 

In love and solidarity,
Third Root Community Health Center