The Platia that inspired me, and one in Philly that's attracting attention

For the past week I’ve been out with family in Greece, where I was inspired to start this newsletter. 

In Greek villages you’ll find a meeting space called a plateia. It’s the space where people come out and sit with their dinner, or talk to their neighbors, or have festivals. It’s also the space where you can find information on when the doctor will be in, or when you can engage in local politics, or have discussions about needs for the village.

It was in this area in a village called Petra, in the Zagori in the Epirus region of Greece, where I thought, why can’t we do this back home? 

I sat on that thought for too long, until I found like-minded people who were working right out on the streets of Philly, integrating mutual aid into their already-robust lives. And with their help, I was able to start The Platia (yes, spelled phonetically!)

I’ve been spending a lot of time offline, speaking to people, learning from people who have no choice but to live off each other, in concert with one another. And I've enjoyed this Sphera Network documentary about the next village over, Demati, where young people have returned to bring new life to mountain villages.

But my mind is on a situation back home, and why we can't work together better in the US. I enjoyed this article from Fault Lines about how areas like Skid Row are created, and it makes me wonder about Kensington, and in particular, one mutual aid group that's receiving heat.

Recently, I went out to food distribution with The Everywhere Project after receiving a tip that the Philadelphia Health Department and other officials, were due to come ask for paperwork and create a distribution stoppage. 

It’s unclear why the city would start asking questions of a charity they've already known the existence of, and even promoted on their site. But it’s something to watch, considering the many mutual aid groups providing basic necessities the city is not. Will Philadelphia officials take the temperature of every group that serves food in Kensington, including church groups? Will they begin asking for safe serve certificates from other mutual aid groups? And why haven't they included anyone who is out serving food in the streets in their hunger task force, instead opting for executives?

It reminded me of a story on a health department in Seattle working with street teams to get people vaccinated, and I wonder why we can’t have that in Philadelphia. 

You can read my post about The Everywhere Project here, and even though they’re not in my core South Philly mutual aid circle, the work they do is worth understanding because they provide people on the street with a second chance to make a better decision. You can sign up to volunteer with them, too. 

I’ll be here in Greece for a few more days, so the October volunteering list may be a bit delayed, but if you check out September’s list, many of the same groups are on rotation. 

If you have a community event you want people to know about, just email me and I’ll get it in the calendar. 

Keep doing the good work in your communities,

Annemarie