A Few More Neighborly Actions

Save Local Food Purchase Assistance, make some art, check out candidates' position on bodily freedom, and use the new rental registry.

Hi, everyone. This list contains one thing to do this weekend (besides join JVP RI for Kaddish on the pedestrian bridge in Providence and send in your #BreakTheBonds card, which you can do TOMORROW, September 8, 1-1:30pm) and some things that are a little further out in time, but that I recommend you plan for!

This weekend: Check out this Bodily Freedom Forever Index for Rhode Island candidates (scroll down for a key) and, if you want, sign up for notifications on candidates’ positions. This covers candidates’ public positions on queer and trans rights as well as reproductive rights; if protecting these is important to you, look for the people who are running where you live.

BY Friday, September 13, 5pm, remotely: Sign a letter in support of continuing Local Food Purchase Assistance, a federal program with local benefits for farmers and households. There’s a fuller explanation at the link, which was shared by Southside Community Land Trust. This is the kind of change that can easily slip under the radar: you might never know this program was at risk until you felt the lack of it. Let’s get out in front of it this time!

Friday, September 20, 2-5pm, 404 Broad St, Providence: Delve into the intersection of art and the natural world in this mixed media eco-art workshop led by Tarshire Battle of Roots2Empower. For those of you who know me through my climate anxiety counseling booth, this is a great chance to bring creative practice to what you feel as a being on earth! 18+; free, with donations accepted.

BY OCTOBER 1/SAVE THE DATE: Rhode Island landlords must be registered with the Department of Health’s rental registry by October 1. If you’re a responsible landlord, this is your heads-up to get your registration in. If you’re a tenant of an irresponsible landlord, check this registry for your landlord on or right after October 1: if they’re not registered, they could face fines and be prohibited from filing evictions for nonpayment. This can protect you if your landlord is neglecting to maintain your place so it’s livable!

With love

Kate