We’re Here for You.

We’re dusting off our Medium account to bring you some much needed distractions for what might just seem like the end of the world. In uncertain times, our values are more important than ever: the need for uninterrupted stories from our community is necessary, so none of us feel alone. We are here for you.

For the foreseeable future, we’re aiming to provide you with things to occupy your time — from movie, music, book, and podcast recommendations from our team to community resources for creatives, small businesses, and more.

We’re starting off this series below with a list of resources and guides for our community in Austin.

• The Office of Austin City Council Member Greg Casar has prepared and is continuously updating a comprehensive COVID-19 Information and Resource Guide available in both English and Spanish. This document includes what to do if you’re feeling sick and are uninsured, are facing food or job insecurity, need housing, and more. If you are in the position to help others, consider making a financial donation to the charities mentioned in this document.
• One Fair Wage is providing assistance to service industry workers impacted by loss of hours or shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can apply for assistance here or donate to their fund here.
• Southern Smoke has set up the Austin Relief Fund to support workers affected by SXSW and recent closures, with 90 percent of donations going directly to emergency relief accessible to restaurants, bars, and their employees in need.
• The Austin Community Foundation has established Stand with Austin to receive charitable donations to support nonprofits assisting individuals and small businesses most negatively impacted by the cancellation of SXSW and least able to recover on their own.
• Mobile Loaves and Fishes is raising money to assist the homeless in Austin starting with their Community First! Village, which provides affordable, permanent housing to those coming out of chronic homelessness.
• The Austin Chapter of Sex Workers Outreach Project is providing emergency relief for sex workers of color in Austin. If you are in need of support you can apply for relief here. If you are in a position to contribute to their fund you can donate here. More resources are available on this COVID-19 Sex Worker Harm Reduction Guide.
• I Lost My Gig features a compilation of industry and freelance workers impacted by the cancellation of SXSW, and allows you to make direct donations to them.

If you’re outside of Texas, we recommend these two resource kits that are being continuously updated with assistance by and for disabled, queer, elderly, Asian, and indigenous people: Coronavirus Resource Kit and COVID-19 Mutual Aid & Advocacy Resources

If you have a fundraiser or other call to action you’d like us to feature, leave us a comment or send us a DM and we’ll share them across our social media channels each day.

Last but not least- turn off the news, go outside, dance, meditate, and take a deep breath or two. Seriously. You deserve it.

Love,

FemBeat