Asheville Survival Program

POINTS OF UNITY

(This version agreed in April of 2020)

We are working to build a long-lasting decentralized network where community members share equally among ourselves necessary resources like food, medicines, supplies, etc. in the Asheville metro area.

Our work is spread among various groups who share our goals and perspective, without a hierarchy of members of groups, so we can all share responsibility, accountability, and empowerment with each other as a community.

We are committed to working outside of the institutions and systems of the state so that our work and resources cannot be taken over by the people in power and given to those who already have plenty. This is a grassroots community organization.

We know that disaster survivors have the best idea of what their needs are and what kind of help they can use. Therefore, we will act humbly in the aid we bring: asking, listening, and responding to the folks in our community. In this way, how we act now matches the kind of future society we want to create.

Our first priority is to include the perspectives, needs, and work of people most affected by the crisis at hand: people with high health risks, people who are overlooked and taken advantage of by the capitalist economy, and especially people of color.

All of our community members are affected and face disadvantages from the state in different ways, and these categories may not overlap, but often do. Therefore, we don't prioritize one person's identity over another, but work to help all of those who are left out by the hierarchies of race, class, gender and sexuality.

Our work aims to break down the barriers between the people who give aid and the people who need aid. Everyone has something to teach and something to share, and we all need assistance at times.

We recognize and work to challenge perceived and actual power imbalances, and use whatever privileges we have--including access to money, food, necessary items, freedom of movement, skills, knowledge and experience--to support people’s ability to decide for themselves what their lives should look like and how they can survive in crisis, with the goal of helping build their long-term resilience afterwards, and tearing down the walls between ourselves and “others”.

Overall, we do our work with the goal of ending all systems of oppression. We stand against all forms of bigotry and abuse: including sexism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, ableism, fatphobia, antiblackness, racism, classism, anti-homeless and anti-user sentiment.

We oppose all actions of the state to limit our freedom, including but not limited to surveillance, infiltration, harassment, disruption and violence.

We do not work with the state. We do not call the cops for any reason, since the police do not protect us or the people we work with and will not help keep us safe. Only we as a community can ensure our safety.

Besides statements or actions that are already public knowledge, we will not speak publicly about the organizing we do unless there is full consensus among all working groups within Asheville Survival Program. When we talk to the media or any representative of the state, we will choose a liaison to do so.

We do not participate in electoral politics, give political endorsements or allow politicians or parties of any kind to take credit for our work or exert pressure on our course of action.

We are not afraid to have the difficult conversations that come with working in a multi-racial, class-diverse, and otherwise complicated collective of people with different identities.

We can only speak from our own experiences and strive to raise concerns about what perspectives are missing or overlooked when we see them and listen to criticism when it is given.

We encourage each other not to shy away from pushing on these difficult subjects when necessary to improve our work, and we also know that people need to be able to disagree gracefully when it is appropriate.

We share responsibility and hold ourselves and one another accountable to these agreements, without violence, judgment, or assumption of intent.