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DESCRIPTION

According to NYC official estimates, “as of March 10, 2024, the City had approximately 64,600 people seeking asylum in City funded shelter, and over 182,900 have come through the City’s system since the spring of 2022. To meet the need for shelter, more than 215 sites including 17 humanitarian relief centers have been opened.” A portion of those migrating to NYC are seeking asylum, fleeing situations that have been described as traumatizing, such as torture, war, and multiple forms of violence, which is part of larger global trends of crisis and instability. How do we best take care of each other in this context? What approaches are being used to support healing from trauma in this situation? How do we support each other’s mutual survival in NYC?

Join us as we hear from NYers who are leading mutual aid efforts, as well those providing social services in community-based organizations.

Part I

Join this conversation to engage with New Yorkers who are leading mutual aid efforts. Following a panel discussion about the strengths and hurdles these leaders encounter in mutual survival work, participants will be invited to explore ideas more closely in small breakout groups. Mutual aid leaders and those providing social services in community-based organizations will come together to share insights and experiences that can help navigate periods of crisis and instability with care.

Part II

This event features a film screening of No le Digas a Nadie/Don’t Tell Anyone, a documentary about a courageous activist’s journey advocating for the human rights of those who are undocumented, including those who experience sexual assault. The film screening will be immediately followed by a conversation with Angy Rivera, the advocate featured in this film.

Both sessions will be highly interactive, inviting participants to engage in discussions, share questions, and take part in small breakout groups to exchange ideas, practices, and frameworks that promote mutual survival and reimagine trauma recovery in our city.

We hope participants will join us for Part I and Part II, though you are also welcome to attend only one.

Mutual Aid and Mutual Survival in NYC is a series convened by the Academy’s Innovation Resident, Dr. Anna Ortega-Williams, as part of her effort to enlarge the way we think about trauma, growth, and healing.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Participants will:

• Increase knowledge about specific NYC resources that support mutual aid and mutual survival, along with barriers that exist, with a specific emphasis on resources for newly arriving New Yorkers who are undocumented.
• Consider policies and practices that impact New Yorkers who are undocumented.
• In small groups, participants will generate strategies and solutions to support mutual aid and mutual survival in their neighborhoods, agencies, and/or institutions.
• Contribute to a conversation about trauma healing and mutual survival in NYC.

ELIGIBILITY

This course is open to staff of any non-profit community organization, government agency, or other non-profit care provider that delivers social services in NYC. Students, community members, academics, and others who are engaged in mutual aid work, social services, or other work supporting mutual survival in NYC are welcome.