Dear Community,
As new cases of Coronavirus/COVID-19 continue to rise in NYC, ALP is thinking of our community members living with chronic health concerns and compromised immune systems; those who don’t have access to the care they need; those in cages; and those subjected to racist and xenophobic violence and discrimination.
Currently, ALP's office is temporarily closed for repairs to make it safer for all entering our space. As a precaution against COVID-19, our office will remain closed until further notice. To support our staff's capacity for community and self-care in this time of crisis, for the next two weeks, ALP operations are temporarily suspended. We are exploring the best course to hold future programming, workshops, and potentially, digital forums based on our community's needs. For now, we await further instruction from health officials.
While there is a call for more social distancing, we know that far too often many in our community already live in isolation. During this time, we want to remind everyone to continue practicing community care — check in with each other often, create pods to provide mutual support, and organize resources to share with one another. Our hope is that in the face of physical distancing, we can find an abundance of ways to stay connected to each other; that humanity and dignity continue to be uplifted in our people.
With love,
Cleopatra and Maxwell
ALP Co-Directors
Here's a few helpful resources that we've been circulating lately:
COVID-19 Community Care Resources from Another Gulf is Possible
Healing Justice Podcast's "Coronavirus: Wisdom from from a Social Justice Lens" and "Should We Cancel? Coronavirus, Travel, and Organizing"
Therapy for Black Girls' podcast, "Managing Anxiety about the Coronavirus"
Podmapping from Mia Mingus and the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective. As Mia Mingus says "this is an excellent time to put your pod into action for things like general and mutual care and crisis support".