Welcome to our first-ever Survival Guide for Concerned Citizens!*
The issues went through a few names before we settled on Survival Guide: the Resistance Issues and A Local’s Guide to the End of the World were early favorites.
Another idea was the The Community Resilience Issues. That is exactly what these editions aim to do: give you, dear reader and resident, some practical steps to take your feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness and transform them into actions that strengthen your household and your local community so they can withstand national and global turmoil, be it economic collapse, political upheaval or climate disaster.
Everyone has their own picture of what a strong, connected and resilient community looks like. To us, it’s one where everyone is looking out for one another, we’re keeping our money as local as possible and sharing our abundance with others, whether it’s homegrown zucchini from the backyard garden or ample public spaces.
These ideas aren’t inherently political, but they have been politicized. Libraries, harm reduction — hell, even the concept of empathy is a target these days.
We firmly believe that collective action — the cooperation that birthed societies, brought us reasonable working hours and toppled monarchies — is not just the way of the past; it’s the way of the future, whatever it may bring.
The only way out is through, together.
*We're not using citizen in the "official" citizenship way. All are welcome and valued here.
A Survival Guide for Concerned Citizens, Vol. 1
- Libraries and the economy of sharing: An ode to the palaces of the people by Kaylee Harter
- How knowing your neighbors can save your life — and others by Natalie Kerr
- Alternatives to capitalism abound in Boulder County by Andrea Steffes-Tuttle
- Digital harm reduction: a guide to (more) ethical tech by Andy Sayler
- How to stay human when the world is on fire by Michele Goldberg
- 5 ways to build a more resilient food system by Lisa Balcom
- On Drugs: Harm Reduction 101 by Shay Castle
Art as resistance
- Motus Theater, Boulder Phil collab invites empathy for immigrants by Toni Tresca
- Boulder punks Diva Cup build queer-femme community by Justin Criado
- Distress flares: a cinematic survival guide, Vol. 1 by Michael J. Casey
A Survival Guide for Concerned Citizens, Vol. 2
If Vol. 1 of the Survival Guide was all about practical steps you could take to build community resilience, Vol. 2 is all about the people doing the building. We talked to members of mutual aid groups, Longmont protesters who have been meeting weekly since the Iraq War, experts helping Coloradans green up their homes and housing advocates pushing for changes at the local and state level.
Here's to the change-makers. After all, you can't have community resilience without a community.
- A normie's guide to mutual aid by Jack Armstrong
- Where to get Narcan and how to use it by Shay Castle
- How to wean your home from fossil fuels by Allen Best
- Are backyard chickens worth the cost? by John Lehndorff
- How to grow food (no matter where you live) by John Lehndorff
- How to read the news without losing your GD mind by Shay Castle
- 20 years of solidarity with a grassroots Longmont protest group by Tyler Hickman
- 13 policies housing advocates say you should lobby your local gov't for by Shay Castle
- BONUS: How to contact your local elected officials by Boulder Weekly staff
Art as resilience
- Documentaries for concerned citizens: a cinematic survival guide, Vol. 2 by Michael J. Casey
- Amitis Motevalli flips the script on anti-Muslim racism with Boulder gallery show by Jezy J. Gray
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