A Vision for a Just recovery - La Marana's work Post Hurricane Maria

Neighbors around the country are forming grassroots community groups to prepare for, and respond to, extreme weather and disasters. These groups organize aid and supplies, participate in reconstruction, and help others find shelter amidst the storms.

The mutual-aid group Occupy Sandy helped New York City residents affected by Superstorm Sandy. Using and expanding the network of people created by Occupy Wall Street, 60,000 volunteers distributed supplies, created a map of relief locations, and organized helping hands wherever necessary.

The Boston Senior Civic Academy teaches older adults how to stay informed about and involved in local politics, covering issues from financial insecurity to dementia-friendly city planning. The program, which serves elders across the city and is part of a world-wide push to create elder-friendly cities, invites older adults to take an active role in politics and advocacy, and gives them the tools to do so.

Tulsa Public Schools drew on expertise across many sectors and extensive neighborhood input to address the issue of thousands of empty seats in local schools. Through a community-focused process, they were able to mindfully close under-utilized schools and better maximize the community's resources for students.

In the aftermath of Hurrican Helene, hospitals in Western North Carolina are working to keep healthcare services operational with methods like staff adjustments, backup power systems, coordination with local emergency services and creating disaster preparedness plans. These efforts have allowed the hospitals to stay open during the storms and continue providing care to those who need it.

A grassroots campaign to build out a river walk with walkable commercial and residential districts boosted economic development while improving flood control in San Antonio, Texas.

Black Lives Matters protests have been sustained by an autonomously organized mutual aid network providing a range of services for protesters and community members. Requests for information and assistance are sent using encrypted communication. The groups provide medics, public protest art, legal and financial aid, and even mechanics to service protesters’ cars and a group that helps protesters replace glasses that were damaged or lost due to police encounters. The extensive mutual aid network enables flexibility to respond to a diverse set of changing needs, sustaining protests longer than in other cities.

Chicago students organized and, for the first time, convinced the city to rename a park in honor of Frederick and Anna Murray Douglass. The former Douglas Park was named after a Civil War era Illinois senator who advocated to expand slavery, and whose wife owned slaves. Not daunted by the city’s bureaucracy, the students canvassed in their community and gathered over 10,000 signatures for a petition to change the park’s name. The campaign, which began in 2017, was much harder and longer than the students anticipated, but by forming a coalition and continuing to speak out they persevered.

Grassroots movements made up of ordinary citizens can go a long way in creating change. This article details several initiatives across Ohio that were led by citizens using a combination of lobbying, education, persistence, knowledge of government practices, and organization. Some things that were achieved using these methods are wage reimbursements and increased bus access.

Prior to Hurricane Maria, it was not uncommon for Puerto Ricans to consider leaving the area to pursue careers elsewhere. Months after, however, as the wreckage from the disaster is far from remedied, the community members of Las Carolinas and neighboring towns are finding empowerment and strength by working together and sharing resources as they create Centers of Mutual Support throughout the island.