#community-resilience

#community-resilience

We're very careful, we keep everything off,

How would a school shooting affect your employees? It's something that most employers never want to think about, but it's a horrifyingly real threat to any community-and the companies and organizations that do business there. Following the death of my youngest son, Dylan, in the 2012 Sandy Hook School shooting, I can tell you first-hand about the lasting trauma that occurs when your child is injured or killed in this type of tragedy-and how that ripples through the entire community.

Seriously though, everything is so fragile right now: Arts and culture funding continues draining, healthcare is a shambles, social services are being razed, along with everything else that's bonkers. The one thing that's not fragile? Community. The communities we build around ourselves are what will help us survive. Start a union at work, in your building, at school. Talk to people at shows and protests. Start a soup night, it's November! There're a lot of ways to get through Portland's (and America's) Big Dark, you just gotta chose your own adventure....

"We can stop Mattel from making Catrina Barbies," Yañez told me. "Where we can make a difference and have some control is in what we can do as a community and for each other and how we engage with each other."

We were all neighbors in one of the many settlements that had sprouted up in the city, and we had been waiting there for everything to be rebuilt. Or that was what the officials kept telling us-to stay where we were so that they could begin restoring the city. But no one seemed convinced that the city would ever be restored, and this was a big reason people came and went, looking for someplace better.

A few, for sure. About four times, actually. And my family's rather small. Suicide has impacted my old friend group quite a bit. I've lost friends. I've lost family. My older brother. My sister's youngest. I never thought I'd have that many people. Alcohol and depression, it comes hand-in-hand. One day the smiles stopped. I don't mind talking about it. You guys are actually talking to the right person.

In Ukraine, sound carries a different weight: the cautionary blurt of sirens, Shahed drones humming overhead, the concussive thwack of air defence interception and the subsequent explosion. But as well as the sounds of war, which continue three and a half years into Russia's full-scale invasion, music still plays, clubs remain open during the day (closing well before the midnight curfew), and electronic dance music remains an intrinsic part of many Ukrainian lives.

In the golden hour after a disaster, we become first responders. Fires spread. Injuries spread. But preparedness spreads too. Join your neighbors and District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill for a free 90-minute Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) class for the public at the Palace of Fine Arts and learn the 9-step plan, practical disaster skills, and real community power. The class is taught by a SFFD Neighborhood Emergency Response Team member Sue Brown, and organized by Cow Hollow & Marina District SFFD NERT Coordinator Anastasia Ashman.

Carmen Chavez has a clear answer for those wondering why she and her partner chose to get married on Sept. 19 the anniversary of two deadly earthquakes that struck Mexico 32 years apart. This was a tragic date for me, said Chavez, who remembers how buildings collapsed in downtown Mexico City 40 years ago. So I want to give this day a new meaning. From now on, it will mark the beginning of our life together.

Medel captures the vibrancy of his eastside neighborhood in works that range from intimate snapshots to expansive street scenes, always with the aim of distilling and preserving the ephemeral feelings and fleeing moments that make up a thriving community. These works also celebrate a bustling street culture that has suffered a summer of ICE raids and unrest, which has stolen a sense of security that will be slow to return.

I feel like readers of NPQ are going to be interested in the decision the Marguerite Casey Foundation, which you lead, has made to increase its spending at this moment. But I wanted to start further back. Because this is an extraordinary moment. We're used to a certain back and forth ideologically, but we're not as accustomed to a full-on rise of White supremacy, a wholehearted attempt to consolidate authoritarian power. How were you thinking about things last year? What scenario planning was going on?

No fans were waiting for the Mexican national soccer team as its players entered the downtown Marriott hotel last Sunday night. No massive swarm was begging for selfies, as usual. In the middle of a wave of anti-immigrant crackdowns by the federal government that has spooked away fans, you could have thought that the team's international friendly at the Oakland Coliseum against Japan, just a year out from the World Cup, was going to be a bust.

It was such a magical, amazing evening. It was beautiful.

Legal cannabis is rapidly reshaping economies, industries, and communities across the United States. Large-scale operations, national brands, and multi-state operators dominate headlines, yet the heart of cannabis culture continues to beat strongest within the craft movement. Rooted in small-batch cultivation, hands-on care, and a deep respect for heritage, craft cannabis is more than a product. It is a living link to culture, identity, and community resilience.

Rio Da Yung OG brings positivity to Flint, MI through his music, confronting the city's struggles while infusing sharp wit and humor from his life experiences.

"Sometimes, recovery is not rebuilding. […] the ethos of #strong - measuring success with how quickly we can raise up houses on scorched earth - is snake oil."

A Turkish angora cat peeks out from a wooden shelter at the Ankara Cat Protection, Survival and Promotion Centre at Ankara University. The veterinary faculty houses cats in safe conditions and helps them find new homes.

The nostalgia tied to the 1950s diner-style restaurants overlooks the harsh realities faced by many during that era, suggesting a dangerous romanticization of the past.

On Memorial Day weekend in 2015, the Blanco River suddenly rose more than 40 feet in the middle of the night, carrying away nearly everything in its path.

The grueling, desperate search for 27 missing girls stretched into a third day on Sunday after raging floodwaters surged into a summer camp as rescuers maneuvered through challenging terrain.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick expressed profound grief over the tragic flooding in central Texas, emphasizing the heartbreak of losing children and the ongoing recovery efforts.

"I saw the look of the people that recognized me on the sidelines, saying, 'Is that Davida square dancing?' They just didn't expect that of me."

"It went from four or five times a week to a couple of times a week, to maybe once a week, now, but it’s still like, 'come on.'"