In this episode of Mutual Aid, Mutual Love, host Ranya Salvant sits down with partners Cat Parkay and Ryan Stimmel to explore how disaster preparedness and mutual aid shape their relationship to the community, especially in the last 100 Days of the Trump Administration. From the hurricanes to the looming Cascadia earthquake, they share stories of finding each other through chance, growing together in crisis, and building resilience through local networks and grassroots solidarity with threats of federal budget cuts to FEMA programs and trainings. It’s a conversation about the power of community, the importance of showing up for one another, and the ways love itself can be a form of mutual aid.
Show notes & links:
- City’s Federal Disaster Relief Funding Could Be At Risk, Emergency Director Tells City Council
- Dark Angel Medical (the in-person Direct Action Response Training is the one that I did earlier this year)
- Stop The Bleed (they have a free online course and it looks like OHSU hosts a monthly 1hr-long in-person class)
- NOLS Wilderness First Responder
- Portland’s NET and BEECN programs (and CERT info to identify similar training and volunteer opportunities in other communities)
- Cascadia Subduction Zone info for Oregonians, including a guide on how to prepare to “Be 2 Weeks Ready”
- Junior League of Portland (as of last week we celebrated our 115th anniversary AND passed the baton to our first Black president, Pleschette Fontenet)
- National Night Out
- The CyberPony Express – Meshtastic radio project
Local Mutual Aid Groups:
- Portland Mutual Aid Network
- PDX Free Fridge
- Community Free Store
- The People’s Store(mobile)
- Asset to the Resistance (their site also has a list of other local mutual aid projects)
Community Podcasting Microcredential – This 12-credit, graduate-level certification helps you build professional skills in podcasting, interviewing, and audio production to tell meaningful community stories.
Thanks to Leif Olsen for composing the music for the series of Oregon Speaks: Voices from this moment.