West Seattle Mutual Aid Party🎉 Updates!
West Seattle Mutual Aid Party🎉, a partner of NW Hospitality, usually reserves their regular updates for their volunteers and supporters. However, here are snippets from their weekly updates from the last few weeks.
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3/7/2023 - There was an unfortunate RV fire caused by a propane heater and we've been trying to get our friend who was injured on some lists for when he gets out of the hospital so that they have a chance to make a better recovery. This is not the first fire that has happened in our community so we've decided that we're going to try and procure some fire extinguishers so that folks have some means of protecting themselves from the risk of a devastating and potentially deadly fire.
The picture is of North team's hot water setup, that we use to make coffee and hot cocoa, the latter of which was by far the more preferred drink that day. Also pictured, lovely freshly baked bread from one of our crew members.
3/13/2023 - This week was a quieter distro. Both teams had a social and chatty afternoon, with about 18 folx total that we met with. Fresh bread and hot food were popular, and I think many of us were cheered up by a dry, warmer day. The propane exchange went smoothly, and we were even able to accommodate extra tanks for a few neighbors beyond our usual route.
Even with the more relaxed afternoon, safety continues to be top of mind for our friends. While there were no new reports of violence or threats this week, the situation remains tense and scary. We continue to seek ways to help people feel safer as they face hostility from housed neighbors.
3/21/2023 - This week started with looking around for our friends who have been hassled to move. We did some driving around West Seattle to see where folks were parked early in the week, and then had to find them again after parking enforcement came through on Friday. Thanks to the Find It, Fix It app, housed neighbors have been able to repeatedly complain about legally parked RVs. Parking enforcement was polite and clear (this time), but people are being forced to constantly shuffle around for the comfort of housed neighbors.
3/27/2023 - Beyond our regular distro, our members have also been busy making additional visits to friends in vehicles. Some have needed assistance in moving due to increased harassment from parking enforcement while others are currently dealing with illness that is further complicating their lives. We also anticipate another big round of displacement and subsequent disruption to our regular Saturday routes in the coming week. As tough as it can be to keep up with the crisis and trauma our friends living outside are consistently subjected to, we take a great level of pride in the fact that more and more people in our neighborhoods are trusting us enough to ask for help and to find ways to support other folks who may need help. The development of trust is a big part of moving our work beyond any of the trappings and confines of simple charity work and toward the horizon of mutual aid that we so desire.
4/3/2023 - We heard from one unhoused friend that they might have found a possible permanent parking situation, and one of our crew members offered their driveway to another friend with a small dog. The weekend was a flurry of activity to coordinate a tow, which was performed by one of our crew member's neighbor and went smoothly, though with a tight deadline, due to the city putting on pressure to have them moved that night. We're happy to have facilitated a safe parking situation for our friend who can now better save up their money towards their goals and not have to spend so much resources moving every few days or worrying about vandalism or being ticketed.
You can follow West Seattle Mutual Aid Party🎉 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MutualAidParty
And you can support them through NWH here or through their Patreon here.