NoBAWC COVID-19 Community Response Call
Channel: SustainableEconomies LawCenter
Date: 2020-03-21

We are not alone. During the week of March 16th, six Bay Area counties announced a “shelter in place” order for all residents, directing everyone to stay inside their homes and away from others as much as possible for the next three weeks in order to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus 2019 ("COVID-19"). The Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives (NoBAWC) and the Sustainable Economies Law Center wanted to create a space for NoBAWC members to come together and live our cooperative values during this time. 

That's why NoBAWC and the Law Center held a call Friday, March 20th to discuss how we can support NoBAWC member workplaces and other Bay Area cooperatives while some of us are forced to slow or even stop operations. We shared resources that the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, Law Center, and NoBAWC members believed may support our collective workplaces, including local, state, and federal small business loans and grants. We will also hold space to share ways each of us have and can practice self-care and community care during this time. There was also be space to offer support and space to ask for support. 

Here's the slide deck for our call:https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/16_B0wPTChgkaxvaStrn5t77hekECjsJFxSP_fllNoUY/edit?usp=sharing 

Database: In anticipation of mutual aid and support amongst our cooperative community, we created this NoBAWC Mutual Aid Network Database 2020 to help you get connected to resources and organized efforts in response to COVID 19. We hope that it becomes a space for us as a community to share more resources and coordinate peer-to-peer exchanges and mutual aid. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11DbnTybK4PGjZbrutcZYOGsC35wSErk0ZW362y4ToBc/edit#gid=1799488245


We wanted this call to be focused on how we, as a community with resources and people power, can respond to the needs of others in our beloved community.