At Community Spring, we believe the answers to our community’s problems should come from the people who are directly impacted by those problems. So when COVID-19 hit we felt compelled to act. This crisis shed light on inequities in our broken systems that we have been feeling for a long time. The gaps that existed before are still here - only wider. How we respond to this crisis and rebuild our communities afterward must be guided by people’s experiences on a grassroots level. The fellows in the 2020 Class paused their campaign to support people coming home from incarceration, Torchlighters Re-Entry Support, in order to tackle the fallout of the pandemic.
The Grassroots COVID-19 Recovery Campaign is run by Community Spring Fellows. This video was used to advertise our community-based survey to assess the needs of the community during the COVID-19 crisis.
Building a Grassroots COVID-19 Recovery
Our vision of a grassroots recovery effort is one that is guided by the self-identified needs of community members, and responds to those needs by getting appropriate resources directly to those households. The first step of our campaign was to conduct a survey of Alachua County residents to learn how the COVID-19 crisis has affected their lives and how they thought local institutions should respond.
229 households representing approximately 500 Alachua County residents responded. While each participant’s experience was unique, two themes emerged in the responses. First, the least well-off households were the most severely impacted by this crisis (see graph). Second, needs are diverse. Some people were behind on rent, others were struggling to support incarcerated family members and others couldn’t afford enough food for their household. Check out our report and recommendations and watch a recording of our community forum to learn more.
CS Direct provided cash assistance to low-income households in Alachua County between June and October of 2020. Randomly selected households received a lump-sum payment of $300 to help meet their needs during these difficult times. 100% of donations went directly to low-income households. Payments were made without restrictions, ensuring that recipients kept their sense of agency and power to improve their lives in the way they see fit.
Well-being in a Time of Social Distancing
Isolation can be extremely damaging. Believe us, we know firsthand. As people who have been directly impacted by incarceration, we know the complex realities of confinement all to well. That’s why every Thursday for two months after the stay-at-home order was issued, we held a virtual meeting for people to come and share their experiences with feeling disconnected, struggling to find resources, and anything else related to this unprecedented time. This virtual place of healing was a space for support and community building.
Local Government advocacy
On the day Gainesville and Alachua County declared an emergency, Community Spring acted to make sure that the needs of our low-income neighbors were a priority in our local government’s response. We drafted and submitted a sign-on letter to local elected leaders in which 32 organizations called for a moratorium on evictions, a local fund for emergency rent and utility assistance, a suspension of public benefit terminations, and more. We also submitted written comments and testified on GNVCares, Gainesville’s COVID-19 relief fund, advocating for additional funds to go to rent and utilities assistance for local households. And we were successful on several fronts! As long as this crisis persists, we will continue to advocate for the priorities of the people impacted most.
Housing during COVID-19
When income and employment are uncertain, so is housing. During a pandemic, we need to do everything possible to prevent an increase in homelessness. In addition to our sign-on letter to local elected leaders calling for a moratorium on evictions, we also published an op-ed in the Gainesville Sun calling on the Sheriff’s Office to not carry out evictions during this time of crisis. To support these efforts, we rolled out a social media toolkit for our partners and community members. Unfortunately, when COVID-19 hit there were already hundreds of people in our community without housing. Community Spring has been working with the Alachua County Labor Coalition and others to advocate for placing at-risk homeless individuals in vacant motel rooms. Housing is a human right, and we will continue to demand housing justice in our community.
Insights on COVID-19
