reprinted from Sierra Club Pelican, Summer 2021 issue

Florida is no stranger to disaster. When it strikes, people will want to help. But when it comes to helping a community in crisis not every response is timely or even appropriate.

Well-intentioned efforts can often waste resources if the response to a disaster is not grounded in accountable relationships with those experiencing the crisis and, in some cases, they can even deepen the trauma experienced by survivors.

With climate change exacerbating storm conditions, it is no longer just inconvenience faced by the general populace, it is also an environmental justice issue with marginalized communities experiencing life-threatening conditions as evacuation is often not an option.

It is important to our mission at Sierra Club that our communities (especially those most at risk) can find the resources they need to survive and thrive this upcoming hurricane season.

With COVID-19 we discovered that our health is also dependent on other people’s health, and we can literally save each other’s lives. Mutual aid is a practice that emphasizes solidarity rather than charity. Mutual aid allows us to respond where we can make the most impact — locally.

Mutual aid efforts are founded on the understanding that it is the system, not the people suffering under it, that creates poverty, crisis, and vulnerability. Therefore, mutual aid projects also include political participation and changing political conditions. The website bigdoorbrigade.com shares information on mutual aid that goes beyond disaster response to assisting in social justice, immigration, and support for incarcerated people and their families.

As we prepare for this hurricane season, the Sierra Florida Chapter’s Equity, Justice, and Inclusion (EIJ) Committee is encouraging local groups and members of Sierra Club throughout Florida to assist their communities by locating, supporting, and promoting mutual aid projects. Find local efforts that need help at www.mutualaidhub.org Consider starting a project in your neighborhood to address food insecurity or disaster recovery and add it to this network.

Principles for an Equitable and Effective Crisis Response - Appropedia: The Sustainability Wiki developed by many experienced in disaster response to promote successful outcomes.

Principles of mutual aid include:
Ask and Listen
We support those who most directly experience the impacts of crisis, and we act in response to their expressed needs.

Distribute Power
We promote strategies that effectively distribute information, resources, and decision-making ability, so that people can most effectively adapt to their local circumstances.

Collaborate Strategically
We work with institutions, to the extent that such work is in service of our goals of equity and justice.

Seek Appropriate Solutions
We understand that problem solving is an ongoing process requiring varied skills — and while we identify common patterns, every situation is unique.

Use Appropriate Technology
We prefer tools that are simple, accessible, freely usable, and well documented.

The Sierra Florida Chapter EIJ Committee is a volunteer-led group working on issues of environmental and social justice. We welcome your participation and your comments and ideas pertaining to issues in your community. Contact us at justice@florida.sierraclub.org