Material Aid and Advocacy Program

Political complacency and criminalization continue to kill our people - community keeps us safe!

Join us TODAY Monday April 8 at 4PM to learn how to respond to an overdose and talk about and strategies to keep ourselves and our community safe. We'll share an overview of harm reduction as a philosophy, movement, and practice - including safer use strategies and policies that save lives, examples of stigma-reducing language, the effects of opioids and naloxone on our bodies, how to identify and respond to an overdose, and considerations and safety planning around calling 911. If you can't make it this month, we'll be taking a training break in May but will be holding another training on June 10th.

You can find the registration link here https://linktr.ee/maapmass, along with links to toolkits to take action in support of overdose prevention centers and against Mayor Wu and her policing partners campaign of criminalization - including an ongoing camping ban and a newly created regional lockup specifically for unhoused people who use drugs.

We hope to see you there, stay safe! 💜




https://linktr.ee/maapmass

Help us start 2024 strong! We rely on individual contributions of all sizes to offer community care (material aid, drop-in community space, sweep support) and organize alongside unhoused community members and people who use drugs for transformative solutions to the inter-connected crises they are fighting to survive every day.

Our community is currently experiencing an unprecedented increase in coordinated criminalization at the hands of democratic mayors and their public and private policing partners - including a recent tent ban and a newly created shady and illegal regional lockup, increased preventable overdose death, and the cold is once again upon us. Our community needs us more than ever.

We hope you'll consider making a financial or material contribution to support our work this giving season if you're able. If you have already given, we so appreciate you. If giving isn't possible we hope you will share our work with your community.

To read our year end update and support, go to https://linktr.ee/maapmass to:
💗 Make a one-time contribution or sign up to become a sustainer
💗 Donate supplies from our wishlist (new or gently used)
💗 Donate supplies from our FSA wishlist

As always, we also encourage you to give unhoused people cash - they know what is best for themselves, their circumstances, and their needs.

📣 MAAP IS HIRING! 📣

MAAP is hiring a part-time Community Care Organizer to offer direct support to unhoused community members at our drop-in space. This person in this position will also offer other community care as needed; organize and support volunteers; and engage in organizing, advocacy, and community education.

🔑 RESPONSIBILITIES
💜 Assist in running our drop-in space on Tuesdays and Thursdays
💜 Meet unhoused community members’ material and survival needs, and connect people to resources responsive to their goals or needs
💜 Maintain a strong and safe community space through relationship-building and community agreements, and community member rights and responsibilities
💜 Respond to crisis, when necessary, and support community members in de-escalating themselves safety-planning around overdose, law enforcement interactions and engagement with the criminal legal system, and other crises
💜 Engage in sweep support and encampment / street outreach
💜Coordinate material & food donations
💜 Manage existing volunteers and oversee continuous development of a volunteer onboarding process
💜 Support facilitation of our regular community organizing meetings and opportunities to increase the collective organizing capacity of members
💜 Build out our existing movement campaigns and create actionable organizing campaigns based on
self-identified goals of members
💜 Expand our current community training offerings and build out training and workshops as needed for community partners

🔑 KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
The person in this role must be a flexible problem solver and effective communicator with many types of communicators who has the ability to support, work, organize alongside and be in community with our members who shape our space and our organizing and advocacy priorities.

They must have an understanding and commitment to harm reduction principles, practice, and movement; restorative justice and justice practices; abolition and trauma-informed and person-centered care.

🔑 INFO
Pay: $25/hr
Hours: 20-26/wk (Tuesday & Thursday are required; with a third work day decided in collaboration with the Executive Director)

Details & How to Apply: https://www.maapma.org/teamopportunities

MAAP is celebrating 5 years as an independent organization! 🎉

Over the past five years the demand for our direct support and grassroots advocacy has increased drastically. The number of community members who come to MAAP for support at our drop-in has DOUBLED since the onset of COVID-19. Our growing community is experiencing a significant increase in criminalization and sweeps for simply surviving poverty in public, navigating an adulterated drug supply - which has resulted in significant increase in preventable overdose deaths among our members, and still - a dire lack of truly affordable and accessible housing. During this time, MAAP and our members have continued to organize and advocate along with our movement allies for their evidence-based co-created solutions to these systems created crises they fight to survive every day.

We hope you will and support us in continuing our and organizing work in Greater / area by donating today!

Click the link below to read more about our work over the past five years and make a contribution! Thank you and stay safe! 💜

https://mailchi.mp/b74d82c06ca9/high5maapjuly17