COVID-19 Response
By: The NMG Team
This moment in time is, as we all know, entirely unprecedented. Schools have moved online, businesses have closed their doors, and drive-thru testing sites are becoming more popular than drive-thru restaurants. And Not My Generation, like every other organization, has struggled to adjust to life during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our team has been hard at work transitioning programming, creating resources, and adjusting priorities in order to adhere to the new normal that preventing the spread of COVID-19 requires of us. But the reality is that the changes we’re making have not been easy; they’re not easy to decide on, to implement, or to keep up on. As activists and organizers, we’re used to putting others first and focusing on issues much bigger than ourselves. We’re used to running ourselves ragged, putting organizing above personal care, and neglecting our own needs in order to fulfill the needs of others. During the course of this past week (and the development of the COVID-19 pandemic), we have, however, been forced to reassess this approach. We’ve been forced to think critically about the way by which our self care (or lack thereof) impacts our organization and our communities. And what we’ve realized is that sometimes you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of others.
Thus, we’ve been practicing self care, working hard to figure out the best way for NMG to engage with current issues (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) as they occur, and doing everything we can to support you -- our amazing organizers -- with whatever you may need during this difficult time. This reflection process has been tumultuous, but has helped us to think differently about our own organizing, and we urge you to do some self-reflection of your own. Though it may be profoundly difficult to do, we encourage you to embrace the notion the best way to care for others is to take care of ourselves.
So why are we telling you this? It’s not to bore you. It’s not to provide you with advice you’ve likely already received.
Rather, our team wants you to know that you are not alone in struggling to adjust to this new normal. Our team also got overwhelmed by the continuous onslaught of public health news, broke down over cancelled events, worried about where we’re going to live and work, scrambled to find the resources we need to care for our communities and loved ones, and scrapped efforts we had been hard at work on in favor of fulfilling more immediate needs. If you are experiencing any of these changes, please know that you are not alone.
To that end, we want to share a few resources that we developed as a result of taking the pause required of us by the spread of COVID-19. Take a look:
We’re forming a digital, peer-facilitated community for our organizers to engage with one another via Facebook! Click this link to join our group “NMG: an organizing community.” We’ll be using this space to brainstorm ideas, share resources, and support one another through times like these.
We’ve released a guide on our social media called “5 Ways to Stay Engaged with the Gun Violence Prevention Movement while Practicing Social Distancing.” Check it out here and be sure to keep fighting for safer communities and fewer gun deaths, even during this public health crisis. Preventing gun violence cannot wait!
Our conversations about reacting to COVID-19 prompted us to think more directly about how NMG responds to current events and breaking stories. What we came to is the realization that we need to have a space for statements on current events, instructions for local organizers to get involved and react to those current events, and feedback about what resources our organization should be sharing or uplifting. So that’s the online space we created. Check out two new sections of our website (click here then click here) for more on NMG’s reactions to current events and how to get involved with our reactions to such.
We hope that the resources we’ve developed and the pieces we’ve shared will help you to stay safe, healthy, sane, engaged, and fired up about building a safer and more just country for all. And as the weeks and months ahead bring what they may, be sure to take care of yourself, check in with your community, and let us know what NMG can do for you.
—The NMG Team