Storm Support, Community Care, and What’s Next

⚠️ Community Support Line for This Weekend’s Storm

We’ve set up a community support phone number that anyone in Hillsborough can call or text if they need resources or assistance:

Please help us by sharing this number with neighbors, friends, and community members who may not see this post - especially folks who are older, offline, or otherwise less connected. Our ability to support one another increases significantly when more people know this line exists.

A few important notes:

• This is NOT an emergency line
• We cannot guarantee assistance
• We will do our best to coordinate offered resources and abilities with expressed needs

We’ll be using the communication network we’ve been intentionally building to extend our collective ability to care for one another during the storm.

Offering Help or Resources?

If you’re able to offer resources and/or abilities, please let us know in the Signal group chat.

If you’re not on Signal yet, this is a great time to join. The more offers of assistance we have documented, the more effective our coordination can be. Even if you’re not sure whether what you can offer will be needed, it’s helpful to know what’s available.

Click here to join the Signal group chat!

To support this effort, we’ll be maintaining an encrypted spreadsheet with minimal data only:

• Name
• Signal username or best contact method
• Type of assistance offered

This allows us to coordinate responsibly while keeping information limited and secure.

Workshop: "Diversity and Inclusion - It’s Personal" hosted by Cassi Chandler

This workshop tackles the complicated legacies and resulting impact of the socialization of race, gender, and ethnicity in America. Through the use of small group discussions and self discovery exercises attendees will be challenged to personally embrace a community of belonging.

Canceling This Month’s Really Really Free Market (RRFM)

We’ve decided to cancel this month’s Really Really Free Market. While we know this event matters to many people, this pause gives us the space to reflect and regroup so that RRFM can be more sustainable and community-rooted moving forward.

A New Plan for RRFM: March Through June (at least!)

Looking ahead, we’re planning to attempt holding the Really Really Free Market every month from March through June, on the third Sunday of each month from 12-2pm in Gold Park.

This trial period will help us:

• Evaluate whether a consistent monthly schedule is sustainable
• Work toward building shared community ownership so RRFM becomes a Hillsborough institution rather than something tied to one group

If you’ve participated before - or have been curious about getting involved - this upcoming stretch will be an important opportunity to help shape what RRFM becomes.

As always, thank you for being part of a community that shows up for one another, especially in moments that call for care, coordination, and mutual support!

Also, here are some infographics that friends made to help prepare for the storm: