Ways For US-Americans To Help If You're Abstaining From Voting
Can't vote on moral grounds, but still raring to do something? Stuck in America and unsure of how to meaningfully serve your community? Here are some ideas that I, a social worker serving house-bound citizens, can share out of personal experience. Feel free to add other ideas or links. We are not powerless.
Volunteer (these are just examples/sources of info)
Planned Parenthood needs volunteers for nearly every non-medical department
See if your state has a volunteer stewardship program, where you can help weed out invasive plant species and defend your natural ecosystem
If you have medical skills, become a street medic
Contribute to the preservation of Queer History
Put your labor towards the upkeep or repair of properties in Indigenous communities
Adult literacy is not great right now, and we're harder to lie to if we're literate; volunteer to help your neighbors who were failed by the school system
Resources to help the unhoused constantly need volunteer counselors, cooks, and someone to sort donations
The sick and elderly are very under-served, particularly if they're broke, so reach out to a local hospice to see what skills they need
Give (if you can't physically volunteer but have money to spare)
Donate to an abortion fund; this one is for Native peoples specifically
Donate to a book gifting program or book mobile; this link is for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
Donate to preserve the histories of communities of color; this fund is specifically for preserving African American historical sites
Donate to protect the natural environment
Donate to help free those caged in prisons; this link is for the Innocence Project, which aims to challenge wrongful convictions
The arts are for everyone, but wealth gaps interfere; this fund is for art initiatives that contribute to community building, including increasing accessibility
Learn (resources that many communities have but aren't widely educated on)
Community Action Agencies: these are non-profits and private companies that act in service of their communities' human rights and quality of life. Many have utility funds, run food banks, manage emergency shelters, provide education and job skills opportunities, and participate in social activism.
Area Agencies on Aging: Non-profits that serve elders (and non-elderly disabled citizens) in a designated service area. They primarily offer services to prolong independent living (free or low cost in home care, meals on wheels, home safety modifications, and Medicare guidance) or help with transition into assisted living.
Habitat For Humanity: They aren't just in disaster zones or on foreign soil; they have local US chapters that provide critical repairs to families in need. They repair roofs, address barriers to access, and perform electric and plumbing work.
Durable Medical Equipment Loan Closets: Communal sources of vital medical equipment including wheelchairs, walkers, canes, hospital beds, shower chairs, and more. May be able to provide incontinence supplies or diabetes supplies. Rarely but sometimes provide oxygen.
Non Emergency Medical Transportation/Alternatives to Mass Transit: Transportation for elderly, disabled, cognitively impaired, and low income citizens to help them reach medical providers, dental care, physical therapy, and eye exam appointments. Can also provide transit to shopping centers, the grocery store, religious events, cultural events, and polling stations. Offer door to door services for the housebound. IF YOU HAVE MEDICAID, YOU SHOULD NOT EVER BE PAYING FOR THIS. MEDICAID IS OBLIGATED TO MAKE SURE YOU REACH ANY AND ALL MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS.
Legal Aid Clinics: Sources of pro-bono or sliding scale legal advice and representation.
tangentwithtanner
dailybridgerton
gummygunk
prguitarman
