#survivalprogram — Public Fediverse posts

This week in our material aid and survival distributions, we supplied the encampment with hot meals, cases of water, requested items, and good vibes. The state continues to relentlessly hound the residents with threats to sweep their tents again and again with the excuse of providing resources on local shelters. Shelters are not a substitute for housing. They separate couples, pet owners from their pets, they ban storage of personal belongings, some require sobriety, and none of them ever feels like a place a person can grow from. They're used to blame people for surviving with a little more dignity.

Mayor Wu's war on drugs continues to rip through our downtown, tearing apart lives and communities while helping no one. The only people that benefit from this social cleansing are the rich, freeloading business owners who want to sell us the lie of American prosperity. The sight of homeless people and the sight of drug use harm no one.

We are doubling our efforts to train and develop our membership to make our distros more sustainable and accessible. Thank you to all of our new volunteers who have stepped up to be in community with the residents of this city who the housing market constantly chews out. It is because of your efforts we are able to dedicate more and more of our time and resources to changing the material conditions that cause a person to live outside or in shelters.
#MutualAid #SurvivalProgram

Every summer we get a big dip in the amount of donations that come in. In order to keep up with the assortment of supplies we offer our unhoused neighbors for their survival (ESPECIALLY through this brutal heat wave), our friends at #SpeakeasyPrintshop have yet again come through for us to offer this print-to-order fundraiser which we will use the funds from to make sure folks are hydrated, kept cool, and have protection from the elements for the summer months. We also want to give a HUGE thank you to all our new donors in the last few days, because of your generosity we will be able to buy 4 new tents for the encampment residents and were able to increase our ice budget.

These t-shirts were made with union labor and the design was created in-house by one of our incredible volunteers. This colorway will be a ONE TIME PRINT and this presale will only be up for the next TWO WEEKS.

Sweeps are violence! During the latest sweep at the encampment earlier this week, residents were given no notice, forced to move in the extreme heat, and lost a lot of what they use for shelter. If a volunteer had not just happened to be driving by at the right time, we would not have even been able to assist and witness.

Get your “Sweeps are Violence” t-shirt now to show your solidarity with the unhoused community in the Boston area. Link to purchase on our Linktree in our bio.

https://www.speakeasyprintshop.com/warm-up-boston/sweepsareviolence

#WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #MutualAid #SurvivalProgram #Fundraiser #SweepsAreViolence

Cruelty is the point: while the rest of Boston hunkers down in air conditioning, residents of the encampment are settling back in after another sweep early this week.

Residents were told by DCR that a sweep was impending on Tuesday, and we were prepared to assist with helping them Tuesday morning. However, on Monday morning, a volunteer spotted the sweep already in action a full day before the residents were told to expect and prepare for it.

We quickly mobilized and had a team of volunteers on site within an hour to help with the logistics and labor of moving. However, many belongings were still destroyed by DCR, and many residents have been awake for days on end, making them even more susceptible to this week’s heat emergency.

We’ve followed up each day since—some of the hottest this year—with aftercare for the residents, including ice, extra harm reduction supplies, extra water, breakfast sandwiches, PBJs, electrolyte tablets, liquid IV, and a birthday surprise for a resident.

Our focus is, as always, keeping our unhoused neighbors as safe and healthy as possible in a system designed to abuse them.

What’s the point of the sweeps, if not cruel punishment for the crime of being unhoused? As one resident put it: “They just don’t want us getting comfortable.”

With these punitive practices and inhumane treatment, DCR and the City of Boston make it clear that they do not see the unhoused as human beings, deserving of respect and compassion, rather they see them as an inconvenience to be swept aside at a moments notice.

#SweepsAreViolence #FuckTheTentBan #WarmUpBoston #SurvivalProgram #StopTheSweeps #ServeThePeople

Every summer we get a big dip in the amount of donations that come in. In order to keep up with the assortment of supplies we offer our unhoused neighbors for their survival (ESPECIALLY through this brutal heat wave), our friends at @speakeasy_printshop have yet again come through for us to offer this print-to-order fundraiser which we will use the funds from to make sure folks are hydrated, kept cool, and have protection from the elements for the summer months. We also want to give a HUGE thank you to all our new donors in the last few days, because of your generosity we will be able to buy 4 new tents for the encampment residents and were able to increase our ice budget.

These t-shirts were made with union labor and the design was created in-house by one of our incredible volunteers. This colorway will be a ONE TIME PRINT and this presale will only be up for the next TWO WEEKS.

Sweeps are violence! During the latest sweep at the encampment earlier this week, residents were given no notice, forced to move in the extreme heat, and lost a lot of what they use for shelter. If a volunteer had not just happened to be driving by at the right time, we would not have even been able to assist and witness.

Get your “Sweeps are Violence” t-shirt now to show your solidarity with the unhoused community in the Boston area. Link to purchase on our Linktree in our bio.

#WarmUpBoston #SpeakeasyPrintshop #ServeThePeople #MutualAid #SurvivalProgram #Fundraiser #SweepsAreViolence

Our comrades this week returned to the encampment to distribute necessary supplies for survival. This included a hot meal, 7 cases of water, snacks, fruit, croissants, as well as requested items such as clothing, cleaning supplies, and harm reduction supplies.

We do this work not as an act of charity, but as an act of solidarity with our neighbors that our healthcare system and housing market fails. The cities, state, non-profits, and other agencies all agree on a housing first model. Yet they actively under fund and under serve as they over promise. They consistently side with the landlords, insurance companies, land owners, and bosses when they allow thousands to suffer a daily crisis. Through this work we aim to create an alliance between housed and unhoused folks to build a strong community ready to fight for the basic protections we owe to each other on a human level. That's why we say strong communities begin with warm meals!

Thank you to all our online donors, you are driving this organization to accompmish so much! We have multiple ways for you to donate in our bio in our linktree. We also thank all of our comrades on the ground, we need both to make this happen. If you are looking to take part in distributions and gain experience organizing, please dm us on here and we'll get you started! #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #EncampmentSupport #SolidarityNotCharity #MutualAid

This past Sunday we conducted our weekly mobile distro. Despite the busy streets and crowds of green hindering our ability to get to some of the places we typically serve, we still found folks in the hiding places they told us about. We are thankful that the community trusts us with their hideaways; we can do our job better that way.

Since this distro happened on a day when many people were celebrating their Irish heritage, we wanted to highlight the struggles the Irish people went through and explain how the famine and mass displacement suffered by the people of Ireland, and the famine and mass displacement currently happening in Gaza are connected. They are connected because of a root cause: colonialism.

British colonialists and landlords in 19th century Ireland displayed genocidal intent as they exported millions of pounds of food to other countries while the Irish people were starving to death, and landlords destroyed their properties and evicted tenants just to get out of paying “famine relief” taxes. The genocidal intent of the IOF has never been more clearly articulated than today, in bombing and starving millions of Palestinians; but the roots of this famine and displacement go much deeper, starting with stripping the native populations of their food sovereignty through settler colonialism.

Our struggles here with food insecurity might not be at the same proportion as the examples above, but they too are connected. When food and housing are not viewed as necessary to life, but rather a means to produce profit for the ruling class, the system by design creates great inequality and suffering. The ruling class and the billionaires who control them have all the money and the power to end war, to end genocide, to end famine, to end homelessness, but they don’t. They will always prioritize profits over people. From Boston to Ireland to Palestine, the struggles of the oppressed are one struggle. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #MutualAid #HarmReduction #MobileOutreach #EncampmentSupport #StPatricksDay #StPatricksDayBoston #Ireland #Palestine

Earlier this week, a few Warm Up organizers met with some senior-year high school students of New Mission High who were awesome enough to spend their lunch break with us. We taught them about mutual aid, why it’s necessary, who and what influenced us to do this work, and how our work differs from state programs or church organizations. We were thrilled to answer their thought-provoking questions and were exceptionally thrilled about their desire to help participate in our cause. We look forward to seeing what these students come up with and working together with them in the coming weeks.
#WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #MutualAid #HarmReduction #MobileOutreach #EncampmentSupport #WUBIsForTheChildren

At this week’s encampment distro, we delivered hot meals, cookies, canned food, snacks, fruit, 5 cases of water bottles, means to keep warm, batteries, superglue, blankets/sleeping bags, and assorted clothing, including some that had been requested, to the residents. We’re grateful to consistently be seeing high numbers of volunteers at each of our distros, to the point where we’ve had to cap attendance some weeks. As we’ve noted, we are turning our eye towards expansion and adding new volunteer opportunities to channel the rising energy we’re seeing in our dedicated volunteer base.

The residents we serve have been consistently shunted from place to place over the last few months. This week, we learned they’ve once again been told to move, though they’ve been given inconsistent timeframes and instructions that seem intentionally vague and difficult to follow. As though it’s not enough to be unsheltered with the weather still getting so cold, they’re given increasingly opaque directions that seem to have an end goal of them disappearing into thin air. We are keeping an open line of communication and preparing to assist in whatever comes next for them. If you’d like to be a part of that effort, please reach out. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #EncampmentSupport #MutualAid

Does WarmUp know how to cross the street…?
Yes! We do!

We were very happy to be out and about yesterday, bringing our unhoused community members food, water, gloves, beanies, hot hands, and harm reduction supplies. Our favorite part of the mobile distro is getting to talk to everyone and building relationships with folks who we see regularly. People’s needs will start to change as the weather does and we are still in the process of expanding our outreach, so if you are interested in volunteering or contributing to this work, DM us!

(Patch on the last 2 slides by #SamPao !!)
#ServeThePeople #SolidarityNotCharity #MaterialAid #MutualAid #SurvivalProgram #WarmUpBoston

The role of harm reduction is essential to all we do as an organization. After our last few mobile distros, our resident harm reductionist provided intro harm reduction education and orienting to our newer volunteers. This went beyond just talking about practical tools for interfacing with people who use drugs and folks experiencing homelessness.

Though the ultimate harm reduction will come from eventually destroying these systems of oppression, in the meantime we are doing what we can as housed activists to work in solidarity with our unhoused neighbors. We do our best to center the needs, asks, and material realities of the people we serve, over what we, as housed activists, think they need. One of the most important things is that we provide material aid with NO conditions. We believe that people should not have to fulfill some sort of requirement in order to have access to basic necessities such as food, water, clothing, medical services, housing, and the like. On this past weekend’s mobile distro, we handed out hand warmers, beanies, socks, gloves, harm reduction supplies, toiletries, ~ 50 sandwiches (various meats and pb&js), ~250 snacks, and again were able to bring along carafes of hot water for hot chocolate, coffee, soup, and tea.

*SWIPE TO THE LAST PHOTO* to see one of our regulars, Ray “The Bird Man” and his pigeon friends. We find him in the same spot every week hanging with his fellow unhoused veterans and feeding the birds. Chatting with him is one of the highlights of the mobile distros, and though we are sad that he won’t be around as much anymore, we are thrilled that he has been placed into housing. He signed his new lease yesterday! (Photo taken and posted with Ray’s consent).

#ServeThePeople #SolidarityNotCharity #MaterialAid #SurvivalProgram #WarmUpBoston

Last night, Warm Up had our first reading group in a long time. We had a very productive discussion of Mass Work by the CPP at @lucyparsonscent. We’d like to give a shout out to @germinalbooks for making beautiful copies of this text for us. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #MutualAid #ReadingGroup #Study #PoliticalEducation

We had a great turnout at last week’s distro, including a few new volunteers. We delivered hot meals (buffalo mac and cheese), 4 cases of water bottles, snacks and canned soup, means to keep warm, requested clothes and socks, hygiene and wound care supplies, and trash bags. We are thrilled to be reaching such a large volume of people who are ready and willing to come out with us in cold, rain, or snow, ready to do the work providing aid for vulnerable members of our communities. If that sounds like you, don’t hesitate to reach out for more information. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #EncampmentSupport #MutualAid

This past Sunday we distributed essential survival supplies to the unhoused downtown. This included over 60 sandwiches and waters to go with as well as hot hands, hats, gloves, and hygiene products.

The more we're able to directly provide the means of survival to our neighbors who have been violently pushed out of the housing market, the more we prove there is an abundance of resources for everyone here. Fascists will say there isn't enough for everyone. Liberals will help so little as to never solve the problem. We say the problem is by design and is inseparable from the profit of the landlord class.

Thank you to all of you who have donated, you have allowed us to do so much recently. Check our bio if you would like to donate. We are always looking for new volunteers, any and all help is appreciated. If you're interested in joining, message us directly on here and we'll get you set up.
#WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #MutualAid #HarmReduction

Fun fact about Warm Up: We’ve never, not even once, done the lord’s work. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #MutualAid #SolidarityNotCharity #NotTheChurch

Fun fact about Warm Up: We’ve never, not even once, done the lord’s work. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #MutualAid #SolidarityNotCharity #NotTheChurch

We have been busy organizing the 5+ new volunteers a week who have been joining our ranks to build community by helping folks out who have been affected by gentrification, ignored by a for-profit health care system, and cast aside by a predatory carceral system that punishes rather than rehabilitates. We have been so focused on how to respond to this influx of volunteers by making necessary organizational developments that we have forgotten to give thanks to all of our donors this winter season. Thank you so much! This work needs harmony between volunteers who can commit to doing the physical work and a community who can contribute to this work financially. Thanks again to all the students, workers, artists, small businesses, and everyone else who has been making financial contributions so we can provide our unhoused and underhoused neighbors with food, hydration, warm clothing, and hygiene items two times a week. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #MutualAid #HarmReduction

We were glad this week to have ample time and decent enough weather to chat with some encampment residents about their needs after a few weeks of increased instability. We brought burrito bowls, canned food and snacks, water bottles, means to keep warm, warm clothes and accessories, blankets, pillows, harm reduction supplies, and socks. Despite the continued stress and trauma from frequent sweeps, spirits seemed pretty high this week and we got a chance to consult about their needs going forward.

The constant, aimless shunting around of unhoused communities by the state can make it difficult to maintain the necessities in life, which is why we’re glad to be out providing aid multiple times a week. If you’re interested in volunteering or donating, please reach out. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #EncampmentSupport #MutualAid

On our Sunday distro, we got reports that police were cleaning our unhoused neighbors from the train stations on the coldest winter day we have had yet this season. These train stations were placed the city told folks could use as warming stations since quarantine. This intentional and it is cruel. In prior years, we had difficulty finding folks on incredibly cold days, but since everyone got pushed out the train stations we got cleaned out of our supplies before we could finish our normal route. It’s really disturbing that the police are essentially creating an income minimum for the MBTA. Nevertheless, we handed out burritos, ham and Swiss, peanut butter and jelly, and Nutella sandwiches. We got cleaned out of heavy duty warm socks and handed out hand warmers and hygiene items. We find that connecting with folks on an economic basis, by giving them supplies that are helpful to their survival, it opens up a political aspect to the work. How else could we report the mistreatment of our unhoused by the city if we weren’t out here week after week connecting with community?
#WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #MutualAid #MBTA #MBTACAB #AllTransitCopsAreBastards

This Thursday, we went out in the bitter cold to deliver supplies to our unhoused neighbors. We brought hot lasagna, snacks, canned goods, water bottles, blankets, means to keep warm, cleaning supplies, socks, and warm clothing to encampment residents. We were able to use donated funds to provide a solar-powered generator and dehumidifiers, as well. We are extremely grateful to our volunteers and supporters who allow us to meet the needs of the people week after week, throughout every season and any kind of weather. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #EncampmentSupport #MutualAid

We had a great turnout of volunteers at this morning’s mobile distro. Enough so that we were able to split into two groups and add an extra route - this enabled us to maximize the number of folks we were able to reach today. We handed out sandwiches, snacks, beanies, gloves, sanitary items, and harm reduction supplies. It’s so important for us to show up consistently every week and we loved seeing new and familiar faces in our volunteer lineup.

If you’re interested in volunteering with us, or want other ways to get involved, send us a DM! We are eagerly onboarding new members every week :-)

#WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #MutualAid

In anticipation of today’s snowstorm, we went out this week to deliver necessary supplies to encampment residents. We brought canned goods, snacks, bottled water, warm clothes, hot hands, tarps and shower curtains for tent insulation, and means to keep warm. Continuing to onboard new volunteers throughout the winter season has been very encouraging in terms of our ability to expand our efforts and reach more and more communities in the city and beyond, as well as responding to specific needs and conditions for those we already serve. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #EncampmentSupport #MutualAid

This week, we welcomed some new volunteers for our encampment distro. We brought a prepared meal of fried chicken, saffron rice, fry bread, and cookies, snacks and canned goods, water bottles, blankets, moving bags, and cleaning supplies. Some volunteers went back later to bring hats, gloves, and ponchos, as well. It’s been heartening to hear that, these past few weeks, when we’ve asked some of the residents if there’s anything in particular they need, they’ve said we should just keep doing what we’re doing. We hope to keep it up through the whole of winter with the help of our volunteers and donors. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #EncampmentSupport #MutualAid

We saw many familiar faces and some new ones on this morning’s mobile distro. It’s a heartwarming feeling when members of the community that we serve recognize us and are eager to point out where other folks in need are hanging out. Their generosity extended beyond themselves as many folks asked for extra sandwiches and supplies to share with friends or loved ones not present when we came around.

In total, we handed out 47 sandwiches, 16 poptarts, 2 cases of water, toothbrush & toothpaste kits, socks, wet wipes, and a handful of hot hands hand warmers. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #MutualAid #MobileDistro #HarmReduction

This past week, we delivered a hot meal, snacks, canned food, bottled water, batteries, warm clothes, blankets, hygiene/supply kits, candles, cleaning supplies, and more to a group of our unhoused neighbors. The inhumane conditions inflicted on the unhoused population by an economic system hostile to their survival leads to almost constant crises, and week after week we are doing what we can do resolve them by providing for basic needs. Winter tends to be our busiest months, so don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re interested in donating or volunteering. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #EncampmentSupport #MutualAid

Rain or shine, we are out here, week after week, bringing valuable resources to our unhoused neighbors. It’s always harder to find where folks go to stay dry. Every day we find a new spot along a route we’ve walked for months. This week we supplied folks with ham or turkey subs, PB&J sandwiches, chicken noodle, tomato soup, hot chocolate, hygiene items, hot hands, harm reduction items, snacks, socks, water. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #MutualAid #MobileDistro #HarmReduction

A huge thank you to the generosity from folks at #SkateHags and #BostonMidweekSkate. With their help we collected 20 winter coats, 16 hoodies & sweaters, 27 pairs of socks, 6 beanies, 4 scarves, 3 pairs of gloves, 7 blankets/tent liners, snow pants, storage bags, backpacks, and more!! #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #MutualAid #Rollerskating

It was chilly out, so none of our volunteers remembered to take their gloves off to snap a photo. Instead, we have some food prep pictures. On our distro today we handed out 54 sandwiches (turkey, ham & cheese, bologna, and PB&J), 2 cases of water, snacks, hygiene items, and harm reduction supplies. A medic joined us, who cleaned up some wounds for folks. All the new volunteers have been very helpful and are positively impacting the work that we do. We love to see it! All in all, it was a very good distro. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #HarmReduction #MutualAid #MobileDistro #EncampmentSupport

This week, we delivered a prepared dish of meatballs, vegetables, and mashed potatoes, bagged snacks, canned goods, water bottles, batteries, backpacks, blankets, sleeping bags, and warm clothes to some of our unhoused neighbors. The climate surrounding public camping means that frequent displacement is now more the norm than the exception. We are adapting our methods in order to continue to meet the needs of the people. The very beginning of winter is perhaps the cruelest time for these policies to take place, but we will not allow despair to immobilize us.

There’s never been a better time to get involved. We are eagerly onboarding new volunteers and accepting donations as well. Get in touch today. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #EncampmentSupport #MutualAid

Just as winter weather has begun to set in, the state has conducted a sweep of a Cambridge encampment, once again displacing residents who were just beginning to recover from previous sweeps and a fire. The residents had little time to prepare for the sweep, and have lost nearly everything. As always, the state has chosen to neglect the people’s material needs, instead acting with cold brutality in service of gentrification and profit. We are attempting to provide material aid in a way that will help residents to stay warm, dry, and fed while they try to recover from this latest injustice. If you are in the Boston area and outraged by this violence, consider coming to visit our table at the @BostonAnarchistBookfair on Saturday 11/11 and Sunday 11/12 from 10am-5pm. We will be accepting material donations at our table! Warm clothing and blankets are highly requested. If you are interested in volunteering with us, you can DM our social media accounts. Donations are much appreciated, and will go directly towards material aid for those that we assist. Donations can be made via PayPal warmupboston @ protonmail dot com or via our Ko-Fi account, which can be found in our bio. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #EncampmentSupport #MobileDistro #MutualAid #HarmReduction #SweepsAreViolent

Just as winter weather has begun to set in, the state has conducted a sweep of a Cambridge encampment, once again displacing residents who were just beginning to recover from previous sweeps and a fire. The residents had little time to prepare for the sweep, and have lost nearly everything. As always, the state has chosen to neglect the people’s material needs, instead acting with cold brutality in service of gentrification and profit. We are attempting to provide material aid in a way that will help residents to stay warm, dry, and fed while they try to recover from this latest injustice. If you are in the Boston area and outraged by this violence, consider coming to visit our table at the @BostonAnarchistBookfair on Saturday 11/11 and Sunday 11/12 from 10am-5pm. We will be accepting material donations at our table! Warm clothing and blankets are highly requested. If you are interested in volunteering with us, you can DM our social media accounts. Donations are much appreciated, and will go directly towards material aid for those that we assist. Donations can be made via PayPal warmupboston @ protonmail dot com or via our Ko-Fi account, which can be found in our bio. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #EncampmentSupport #MobileDistro #MutualAid #HarmReduction #SweepsAreViolent

Yesterday a few of us participated in our mobile distro and almost immediately we saw a change in the downtown area. There were more new faces than usual, people gathering in spots we haven’t seen folks at before, and a higher than usual demand for harm reduction items. We handed out sandwiches, snacks, socks, and hygiene items. Tonight we are going to do a test build of a DIY tent heater before we build a bunch on Friday. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #MobileDistro #EncampmentSupport #MutualAid

On our distro yesterday, we brought encampment residents some water, propane, clothes, and blankets. Unlike charities, and other mutual aid orgs, we don’t demand absolute sobriety, so we also brought them a bottle of champagne to celebrate the new year in the same way the majority of people celebrate. Residents were extremely happy to have something for their own little celebration this year. #WarmUpBoston #ServeThePeople #SurvivalProgram #EncampmentSupport #MutualAid

Some of the gear we bought with your donations ahead of this historic cold front, thank you!

To donate, go to http://SAFEBoulder.org/Donate

These will go out this evening.

#MutualAid #SurvivalProgram #Boulder #cowx

getting involved in Warm Up. In the past year we have gone from bi-weekly distros to multiple distros a week. And that was all accomplished through people power! If you’re looking to get involved, please get in touch. #SurvivalProgram #MutualAid #ServeThePeople #WarmUpBoston