April 2019: Southern Spring

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Dear STAY Family, How are you all holding up during these trying times? What even is time at this point? Wherever you are geographically, we hope you are safe, healthy, and taking care of yourselves. Over the past few weeks, much of Appalachia and the South have been hit with deadly Easter storms that wreaked havoc on communities and left over 70,000 people without power for days. Coupled with the growing threat of COVID-19, state representatives eager to rollback social distancing measures, and a critical lack of healthcare infrastructure, we know this is going to be a critical time for young people in our region. But despite the conditions of our current political climate, our strength is our ability to continue to show up for one another, to keep checking in to make sure we have what we need to make it through this. The unpredictability of the future makes it hard to say what is to come over the next few months. While we weather this storm, we will continue to STAY connected to our members and supporters, provide mutual aid support to young people in Appalachia, and stay true to our mission of working to make the Appalachian region a place young people can and want to stay. Finally, be sure to check out ourinstagram stories this week to see Sav Miles give gardening tips and download the recording of the unemployment workshop that we held at the beginning of April. Black Appalachian Young & Rising will be hosting a call just for Black youth living in Appalachia on Wednesday May 6th @ 7:00pm. Until we are able to gather again, wash your hands, check on your friends and neighbors– we are in this together!   Solidarity & kinship, Mekyah Davis, on behalf of the STAY Project staff & steering committee  Visit our Resource Page on our website for information resources on COVID-19. If you need funds for organizing a response in your community please apply to our member support fund Donate to theKSEC/STAY Mutual Aid Fund STAY Connected & STAY Informed Black Appalachian Young & Rising Call Black Appalachian Young and Rising is hosting a call just for Black youth between the ages of 14-30 living in Appalachia. This will be a space to connect with each other, talk about how COVID19 is impacting us, and how we will move forward and support each other when we are unable to gather in person. Join us Wednesday, May 6th @ 7:00pm EST/6:00PM CST as we catch up and discuss how we will continue to keep our fire going together! Register for the BAYR Call! We have been able to disperse $7,300 to youth throughout Appalachia to date. We encourage folks to apply as needed and will continue to disperse funds as we have them.  However, we are currently low on funds so please donate to the fund if you can! Donate to the COVID-19 Youth Mutual Aid Fund Over the past 5 weeks, 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment and counting. You know they ain't about to make it an easy process to collect the money we need to take care of ourselves. Thankfully, steering committee member Aria Taibi hosted a workshop on the basics of applying for unemployment. Check out the recording of the call and the unemployment resources they put together. Regional Happenings In the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Old Dominion Power has managed to sneak in a rate increase that will directly affect residents in Southwest Virginia. You can check out the article by our friends at Appalachian Voices here. STAY Project steering committee member, Nina Morgan has been working with a coalition in Birmingham, AL on the #EarthMonth2020 Campaign. They are calling out the "Elephants in the Room" when it comes to the institutions that intersect, overlap, and evolve to create and maintain environmental and climate injustice in our communities. Throughout Earth Month, they will be hosting a writing series calling out these elephants in the room—the people, places, and things that actively try to prevent our people from living autonomous, healthy, and sustainable lives. They'll also be spotlighting the local and regional efforts to RESIST environmental injustice and its underlying causes (racism and anti-Blackness, patriarchy, capitalism) in favor of mutual aid, food sovereignty, and abolitionism. You can check out that work here. Southern Spring 2020 is 90 days of action across the South to resist injustice and build power. Southern movements are ready for this moment. With vision. With plans. With experience on every frontline and rooted in our communities. Members of the Southern Movement Assembly are organizing actions and mutual aid projects from April 1 - June 30, 2020 to engage our people, deepen our connections, and exercise our power during this critical moment . . . and we start today. Actions are being planned from April 1st - June 30th. Submit your actions & projects HERE   Several of the Southern Movement Assembly’s Governance Council members are anchoring one of the following dates, and invite you to join or plan your own actions on these dates. April 1 - #SouthCounts2020 Census Actions COMPLETED! April 20-22 - BP10 & EarthDay50 Actions COMPLETED! May 1 - Mayday Actions to Protect & Defend Healthcare Workers June 19 - Juneteenth Actions to Resist Displacement & Build Mutual Aid June 20 - World Refugee Day Actions to Resist ICE & Build Community Safety Systems Planning your actions. We are stronger when we are able to learn from each other and align our work. Stay connected during #SouthernSpring2020: Share your plans by completing this form.  Join action planning calls to connect weekly with organizers.  Use the hashtags #SouthernPeople’sPower #SouthernSpring2020 Join monthly calls to learn about key actions coming up  For more info, email info@southtosouth.org Join our Appalachian Youth Movement! Wanna join the STAY Project? We’ve added a membership form to our website! If you are between the ages of 14-30 and living in Appalachia and want to be a member of the STAY Project, head on over to our membership page and fill out the form. If you are a current member go ahead and fill out the form to update your information. Be a part of a movement for youth and by youth that is working towards a just, sustainable, and equitable Appalachia! Did y'all hear that STAY is now offering financial support to members who are organizing projects/events in their communities? We are able to offer up to $200 to support members’ projects that align with our mission and core beliefs. Specifically, we are hoping to support projects/events that further STAY’s work of providing space for young Appalachians to gather, learn with/from, create, and work together. To learn more and to request support, fill out this form! When you give to the STAY Project you are nourishing a grassroots movement by youth and for youth in Appalachia. We could not do our work without the support of a community that believes in us. Thank you for believing in us! Donate to the STAY Project! Share Tweet Forward Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*