Category Archives: Intentional Communities

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, May 12, 2022

MOBIfest is back and in-person for the first time in over two years with a weekend full of pride, hope, and celebration.

NEW YORK, May 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobilizing Our Brothers Initiative (MOBI) is proud to announce the live return of MOBIfest, an annual interactive wellness festival that focuses on culture, community, and health while celebrating the voices of Black gay and queer people of color in the arts, entertainment, and media on June 9th - 12th, with a prefestival activation on Sunday, June 5th.

MOBI was created in 2017 in response to a lack of spaces for Black gay men and queer communities of color to develop personally and professionally while creating a supportive community network. That mission has only grown stronger and prouder in its fifth year of programming, "MOBI was able to continue to create engaging content during the pandemic to unite our community members and others online. While we've been extremely successful reaching people digitally, we're even more thrilled with connecting to people in person again," said Julian J. Walker, Deputy Director of MOBI. "We cannot wait to bring this free festival to life and create, thrive, collaborate, and gather with community and friends from NYC and beyond."

This year MOBI is going bigger and more intentional than ever. This year MOBIfest will be a four-day experience where all attendees can and will see their holistic selves:

Sunday, June 5th at 2 PM, MOBIfest will kick off with a pre-festival Queer Art Show and Party curated by Kendrick Daye, showcasing artwork submitted by local queer artists. This event will take place at 530 W 25th St., New York, NY 10001.BMAJR will serve as the event DJ.

Thursday, June 9th at 10 pm MOBIfest Official Kick-Off Party withTrappy Hour at 4West Lounge, 303 W 127th St, New York, NY 10027. Harmonica Sunbeam will host an evening full of celebration.

Friday, June 10th, will feature a MOBIfest Community Gathering; more details will be announced. Join MOBI for a day for communities of all ages to come together and relax in a shared space.

Saturday, June 11th at 6 pm, MOBIfest will make its return to the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 N 6th St, Brooklyn, NY 11211, with a curated lineup of queer-focused artists, entertainers, ballroom legends, and DJs, featuring Albanus Thierry, Bambihanna, BMAJR, Britton & The Sting, DJ Adair, DJ Boston Chery, Dyllon Burnside, Harmonica Sunbeam, Jash Jay, JeRonelle, Julian King, Kandy Muse, Kenneth Kyrell, Mila Jam, Sevndeep, TENz Magazine, and Wuhryn with more artist to be announced. Attendees will be guided through the evening by two Black queer couples:Brande Elise andDanielle Gray,and Marco Reese and Randy Bowden Jr. Following MOBIfest, the afterparty will continue at the Music Hall of Williamsburg with a special performance.

Sunday, June 12th at 8 PM, MOBI joins TENz Magazine for a MOBIfest Edition of "Some Nice Things" at Madam X, 94 W Houston St, New York, NY 10012. The event will feature a mini-ball with cash prizes over $2,500.

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"We are proud to be sponsors of the 2022 MOBIfest. Gilead knows the importance of facilitating organic connections and empowerment opportunities through creative programming," said Darwin V. Thompson, Director of Corporate Giving, Gilead Sciences, Inc. "The work of Mobilizing Our Brothers Initiative has been critical to cultivating these safe spaces, and we're beyond excited to participate in this year's festival."

For more information on MOBI and register for the MOBIfest, please visit http://mobi-nyc.com/mobifest2022.

Media Contact:Alloric Riley, Account ManagerCoordinator@Houseofheralds.com

About Mobilizing Our Brothers Initiative:Mobilizing Our Brothers Initiative (MOBI) is a series of curated social connectivity programming and events, launched in 2017, for Black gay men and queer people of color to see their holistic self while promoting community, wellness, and personal development. MOBI engages communities through free programming such as MOBIfest and MOBItalks. MOBI is committed to connecting individuals to opportunities to better themselves before, during, and after our signature programming. With a focus on health and wellness, MOBI seeks to cultivate a more informed, better equipped, and supportive network for the communities we serve.

In an effort to affect greater audiences, in 2020 we transformed our signature live programming MOBIfest into a virtual experience and MOBItalks into a 3 part digital series that documents the intersectionalities of LGBTQ life and culture through the themes of sex, mental health and identity.

For more information on MOBI, please visit, http://www.mobi-nyc.com

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SOURCE Mobilizing Our Brothers Initiative (MOBI)

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MOBIfest Presented by Gilead Sciences, Inc. Returns to New York with Collection of Celebrations and Experiences June 5 - 12 - Yahoo Finance

The Naming, Renaming, Commemoration, and Removal Handbook is now available for public use.

Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2022) - Heritage Calgary, a civic partner with a mandate to advise Calgary City Council on all matters relating to the city's heritage, has released its framework for Naming, Renaming, Commemoration, and Removal (NRCR) in Calgary. The handbook will serve as a valuable resource and discussion guide for anyone considering an NRCR project.

"As more Calgarians became involved in NRCR projects, the need for a clear process to make intentional, inclusive, and enduring decisions, became increasingly clear," says Josh Traptow, Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Calgary. "This project provided a unique opportunity to critically and thoughtfully examine a complex social issue that has broad implications and gain insight into its significance and resulting impact."

In February 2021, at the request of a member of City Council, Heritage Calgary applied to the Council Innovation Fund with a proposal to develop a framework to address naming, renaming, and commemorations in Calgary. City Council subsequently approved the proposal on March 1, 2021.

Over the next 12 months, Heritage Calgary, in tandem with its project team, undertook parallel community engagement and research processes to develop the NRCR Handbook for Calgary-based organizations to use when they are considering an NRCR project and policy changes. The resulting principles and eight-step process seeks to guide users to understand a project's relationship to the place on which it is located, engage with the community in a meaningful way, and seek a thorough understanding of the historical and contemporary context through research.

"We approached this project in the spirit of reconciliation," continues Traptow. "Our hope with NRCR work going forward is to understand the implications for each NRCR project, its context, and its legacy for the betterment of all community members."

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As part of the framework project a Final Report was also released, which outlines the project approach as well as research and engagement findings. It also provides recommendations for Calgary communities, for the City of Calgary in the context of policy, reconciliation, and civic supports, and for Heritage Calgary going forward.

For more information or to view the framework, visit https://www.heritagecalgary.ca/naming.

To view the Naming, Renaming, Commemoration Project Fact Sheet, click here.

Naming, Renaming, Commemoration, and Removal Handbook Cover Image

To view an enhanced version of this image, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8823/123735_1734d0fed41b88a1_001full.jpg

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About Heritage Calgary

Heritage Calgary is a charitable Civic Partner of The City of Calgary focused on the research, education, and preservation of our shared heritage in Calgary. We believe heritage is a dynamic process by which identity is experienced, interpreted, and represented and take pride in working with Calgarians to honour the fabric that we are all a part of. For more information, visit http://www.heritagecalgary.ca.

Heritage Calgary Media ContactShannon McLaughlin1-825-305-2966smclaughlin@heritagecalgary.ca

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/123735

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Heritage Calgary Unveils Framework for Naming, Renaming, Commemoration, and Removal in Calgary - Yahoo Finance

EAST ALTON Improvements are coming to river infrastructure, according to officials speaking Wednesday at a Mississippi River Corridor Summit on Water Infrastructure Funding in East Alton.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials hosted the summit along with state co-regulators and the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative mayors at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center Confluence Field Station.

Zealan Hoover, Senior Advisor on Infrastructure Implementation to the EPA, said the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law mandates that 49 percent of the $43 billion provided through Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds must be distributed as grants and forgivable loans to qualifying disadvantaged communities.

"Not every program is going to get dollars out the door in a day," Hoover said. "But collectively, across the hundreds of programs in the infrastructure bill, you're going to see progress every week as we move this forward."

EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore oversees Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and 35 Native American tribes. According to Shore, the infrastructure law will provide the 10 states that border the Mississippi River with nearly $1 billion in 2022 alone, while creating more than 20,000 jobs.

"When we talk about building a better America, this is what we mean," Shore said.

Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide significant benefits to Illinois, especially to our small and disadvantaged communities that have limited resources to meet essential wastewater and drinking water infrastructure needs, said Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim. We welcome this opportunity to work with our federal partners and meet with local officials, so we can better address the challenges these communities face and provide the necessary resources to get the funding where it is needed most.

Lewis and Clark Community College President Ken Trzaska noted this is the 20th year for the NGRREC, founded through a collaborative partnership between the college, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Illinois Natural History Survey. The center aspires to be a leader in scholarly research, education and outreach related to the interconnectedness of large rivers, their floodplains, watersheds and their associated communities.

"It has continued to grow and to celebrate the remarkable work of partnership along the Mississippi River, and along rivers across the county," Trzaska said.

The summit focused on engaging MRCTI mayors in water and wastewater challenges and needs, especially those with equity and environmental justice concerns such as small rural communities. East St. Louis Mayor Robert Eastern, and MRCTI Illinois State Chair, said his city's biggest challenge is technical assistance.

"Our infrastructure and sewer systems are dated, over 100 years old," he said. "There needs to be a real, intentional, comprehensive plan working towards the freshwater flow from uphill areas."

Alton Mayor David Goins noted similar freshwater flow issues because Alton is an area with a lot of hills.

"It ends up with a lot of our streets being flooded," Goins said. "The infrastructure being improved will be great."

Grafton Mayor Mike Morrow said his public works department has just four employees and the city's infrastructure "is that of the 1800s."

"I hear that we got all this money coming out, and we're all excited," Morrow said. "But what I'm also hearing is that you're overwhelmed. "I will tell you, we are overwhelmedbecause I can count my staff on one hand."

dylan.suttles@thetelegraph.com

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Progress forecast for river projects - Alton Telegraph

The Advocate-Messenger sent a survey to all candidates running for local office for this special section to introduce the candidates. The local primary election is May 17.

All candidates answered the same questions, which were limited by character counts in a Google form. The questions are:

1. Please enter your name and tell us about your background (300 characters or less)

2. Why are you the best candidate for this office? (600 characters or less)

3. What do you think is the most pressing issue affecting us in this election cycle? (300 characters or less)

4. How would you address this issue in your elected office? (600 characters or less)

Candidates had the option to submit a headshot for print. The Advocate-Messenger sent this survey to the emails that were associated with candidates applications to run for office.

Not every commissioner candidate is listed in the section because we did not receive responses from every candidate by press time. They may be added before May 17 if we receive responses from remaining candidates.

In the non-partisan races of Danville mayor and city commissioners, only two of the three mayor candidates will continue to the general election. Eight of the nine commissioner candidates will continue to the general election.

Danville Mayor:

James J.H. Atkins

I have lived and served in Danville for over 40 years as a classroom teacher, principal, director of elementary schools, and college professor and administrator, veteran, and volunteer who still wants to serve our community as a public servant rather than a politician.

Why are you the best candidate for this office?

I have volunteered to serve in various capacities throughout our community for many years. I was the chairperson of Citizens Concerned for Human Relations for over 25 years and organized 15 successful community-wide Heritage Festivals. I am currently serving my 12th year on the city commission and my 8th year as our mayor pro tem. I have the knowledge, the skills, and the ability to get people to come together collaboratively and cooperatively.

What do you think is the most pressing issue affecting us in this election cycle?

The issue of workforce development and housing. We must have people who are trained and educated to do the jobs that need to be done. Each worker must receive a living wage and have a decent, affordable place to live.

How would you address this issue in your elected office?

Get the schools involved with addressing the needs of students who are not college bound. Make full use of Bluegrass Community and Technical College to provide vocational training. Reassess our business and manufacturing employment needs. Continue to work with surrounding counties on how the sharing of employees impacts our workforce. Work on improving the relationship between the Economic Development Partnership and Economic Development Authority so that Danville and Boyle County will speak as one economic development voice, standing proud and standing together.

James Morris Hunn

Im a 1984 graduate of Danville High School, faithfully served in the USAF for 27 years. My leadership was crucial in providing senior military and civilian leaders with guidance to operate strategically in complex environments through the application of leadership problem-solving.

Why are you the best candidate for this office?

The leadership experience I received as a senior enlisted leader in the USAF shaped my life for this opportunity to continue to serve my community. I was blessed to lead our servicemen and women in meeting the top priorities of our nation. This one-team mindset is crucial for Danville as we move forward. Furthermore, I love the challenge of encouraging people to come together to work for the common good. I believe I have been called to be a servant-leader. It is an honor to see people coming together to ensure we are led with integrity, compassion, service, and excellence.

What do you think is the most pressing issue affecting us in this election cycle?

I believe jobs and the lowering of taxes is one of the pressing issues thats affecting us during this election cycle. Jobs and taxes affect all areas of our economic development to include how it affects the decisions of families concerning housing, jobs, and education.

How would you address this issue in your elected office?

First and foremost is to lead with a servant-leaders heart leading by an example of building a one-team, one-community mindset to meet these challenges. This must entail building trust with businesses, citizens, and community leaders with honest and open-minded engagement. This starts with intentional conversations. I envision quarterly meetings with county, and surrounding cities, and business leaders to continue mapping out how we can work together for a vision for long-term economic growth for workforce development, sustainable job growth, affordable housing, and lower taxes.

Denise Terry

Im currently serving my 8th year as a city commissioner. I am a Danville/Boyle County native and reside in Danville with my husband. While residing and owning a business downtown, I began attending city commission meetings to educate myself and felt compelled to run for city commission.

Why are you the best candidate for this office?

In my tenure as a commissioner I have displayed leadership skills to move the community forward. I have a strong work ethic and a call to serve this community. I am committed to the time and energy that being mayor requires. Danville has a rich history that we can build on by practicing old traditions and forming new ones. We can bridge the gap between tradition and progress by remembering where we came from but always looking toward the future. Progress isnt about now, it isnt about us, its about tomorrows firsts. Danville has a rich history we can embrace by being the change our future needs.

What do you think is the most pressing issue affecting us in this election cycle?

There are many pressing issues facing the citizens of Danville that we must continually address. These are all important but we cant accomplish anything until we all work together. Better communication with community leaders is key in effectively addressing concerns for Danville/Boyle citizens.

How would you address this issue in your elected office?

I will use my leadership abilities and experience to work with all local leaders to strengthen our community services and outreach, continue improvements to our Parks & Rec system, collaborate and communicate with other community leaders, build a better relationship between City of Danville, Perryville, Junction City and Boyle Fiscal Court, provide better access to information for citizens about important news and events in our community, design and implement effective growth and development plans.

Danville commissioners:

Jennie Hollon

I have enjoyed serving my first term as a commissioner and would be honored to work for EVERY citizen once again. Tim and I have raised our family here and love Danville. We currently run two businesses, the Nutrition Center and LineX of Danville. We have two daughters, ages 21 & 12.

Why are you the best candidate for this office?

As a 30-year resident of Danville, my only desire is to listen, work hard, and make sure the taxpayer has a good return on their investment. Our citizens ARE our investment! My daily involvement with citizens of all ages and backgrounds allows me to hear and see the communitys needs first-hand. I believe that I best represent a voice for families as well as small business owners. If you would appreciate a candidate that has a background in business management, customer service, health & wellness, and a strong entrepreneurial skill set, then Id humbly appreciate your vote.

What do you think is the most pressing issue affecting us in this election cycle?

What I see is that Danville needs to PLAN for our FUTURE, and this will require change, collaboration, and teamwork. Planning for the future must focus on economic development, housing, and our workforce. Planning for future generations is about investing in our youth and early childhood education.

How would you address this issue in your elected office?

We must be united to work as a team with the City, County, volunteers, and State Reps, to best plan for our future. We must foster partnerships with schools, nonprofits, and businesses, to address future needs in the most efficient and cost effective manner. Economic Development will expand with a unified strategy, well defined goals, and a new approach requiring compromise. Early childhood development will be expanded through partnerships, rather taxpayer dollars. TIF districts will incentivize new housing and development. Grant writing will help pay for community park upgrades & trails.

Shawn Moore

I have been a resident of Danville for 51 years. A US Navy Veteran, I am currently employed as Director of Planning & Zoning & Floodplain Manager for the Mercer County Joint P&Z Commission. I am married to Jayne Moore who has worked at Webster Orthodontics for over 40 years.

Why are you the best candidate for this office?

As Director of P&Z for Harrodsburg & Mercer County, I am personally involved daily in local government activities. The unique nature of the job affords me the opportunity to work not only with local officials, but with officials at the state and federal levels. This allows me the ability to network with various people and agencies who can help provide solutions for the community. Trained in dispute resolution and mediation, I believe this gives me the capability to work with people of varying viewpoints and work together to provide solutions that will work for the benefit of the community.

What do you think is the most pressing issue affecting us in this election cycle?

The most pressing issue facing Danville right now is the out of control spending combined with the level of debt the city is carrying. Loan payments the city makes are nearly $375,000 per month. With a budget exceeding $25M, its easy to understand why the tax rates in Danville are so high.

How would you address this issue in your elected office?

An immediate nonessential spending freeze would be a good start. Then, a detailed department by department review of the budget should be conducted to seek out the excesses. Those excess monies could then be redirected to reduce the current debt carried by the city. At a time when it appears we may face what could be a long-term recession, now is not the time to continue to spend and assuming new debt until we can get our house in order. Once completed, then a review of the current tax levels can be done to see if tax rates can be lowered to levels more in line with communities of our size.

Charles Singleton

Born and raised in Danville. My grandfather back in the 1920s raised seven children here. He was pleased with the city then as I am now. My dad, Clyde Singleton, sold real estate in Danville. He really loved his town. I have enjoyed growing up in this community and working for the city.

Why are you the best candidate for this office?

Because I am a home grown man. I lived here all my life. Ive seen what works and what doesnt work. I have many friends in the community and would love the opportunity to work and make Danville better.

What do you think is the most pressing issue affecting us in this election cycle?

I think we need to focus on creating better streets and sidewalks to make Danville a safer place.

How would you address this issue in your elected office?

By fixing the potholes and uneven sidewalks. We have good city employees who have the knowledge to do this work. I know they do because I used to work with them.

Donna Peek

Ive lived in Danville all of my life. Im married to my husband Jeff and together we have 5 children and 8 grandchildren. I recently retired after 30 years with the City of Danville having worked my way up from Finance Clerk to Director of Human Resources and City Clerk.

Why are you the best candidate for this office?

In a word, experience. My time as City Clerk has given me a unique perspective on how local government, and more specifically our form of government, works. In addition to formal training, I have firsthand experience working with and alongside city managers, elected officials and community leaders. Experience has taught me a great deal about what works and doesnt work, how to work within the system, how to work together to get things done and most importantly, how to treat people. Ive dedicated my life to public service and want to continue serving our community as your city commissioner.

What do you think is the most pressing issue affecting us in this election cycle?

In talking with voters, Ive heard a wide range of issues, all of them pressing to someone. However, the one thing they all seem to have in common is a need for a unified approach to resolve them. Building trust and beginning to work together again seems to be the most pressing of issues.

How would you address this issue in your elected office?

As commissioner, its my job to be engaged as well as engaging. As one of five on the Board of Commissioners, it is imperative I work with the other commissioners to get things done. As one part of a regional community, we must work with the other stakeholders if we are going to survive. I will work with the city manager to promote greater inclusiveness and exchange of information among our public and private agency neighbors and explore opportunities to partner together, rebuilding relationships and expanding our potential to address everyones pressing issues.

Rick Serres

Im a 38-year resident of Danville. Owner of Bluegrass Biomedical and IT Services. City commissioner from 2015 2020. Parks & Recreation Board 1990 2000. A member of the Trails alliance. Currently a board member on the Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Why are you the best candidate for this office?

Experience, desire and common sense decision making. Quality of life produces economic development.

What do you think is the most pressing issue affecting us in this election cycle?

Employee fulfillment and retention.

How would you address this issue in your elected office?

Attitude changes about the jobs available. Free time activities availability and awareness. Education. Attraction of professional small businesses catering to the medical, engineering and tech savvy markets or similar clean industries.

Steve Southerland

I have been a Danville resident since 2006 and a regional resident most of my life. I am an Air Force veteran, was a Dept. of State contractor in Afghanistan and have owned small businesses. Over the last few years, I have revitalized multiple blighted properties in the city.

Why are you the best candidate for this office?

We need commissioners that will put the people first, help grow our community and improve the quality of life for all residents. Someone empathetic, who will listen and take action when necessary. As your commissioner, I will be financially conservative and respectful of taxpayer dollars. As a creative thinker who wants to make a difference, I look forward to the opportunity to serve the people of Danville.

What do you think is the most pressing issue affecting us in this election cycle?

Our workforce is probably our most pressing issue. This problem is multi-faceted, we have an addiction problem where at least 15% of available workers are unable to pass a drug test. We also have an aging workforce whose knowledge is disappearing quickly. Lastly, we have a housing shortage.

How would you address this issue in your elected office?

We need to support recovery programs and help reintroduce nonviolent offenders back into the workforce. Also, we need to bolster programs between the high school and BCTC to provide our younger generation a usable skillset. Housing can be addressed by developing both multi and single family homes. Danville is the only city in the area with a higher daytime population than nighttime, is that simply an issue of available housing?

Joe Lamkin

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Meet the Candidates: Danville mayor and commissioners - The Advocate-Messenger - Danville Advocate

OPINION

ByBrian Ronholm Director of Food Policy at Consumer Reports, andLiz Hitchcock Director at Safer Chemicals Healthy Families

The next time you order takeout at a favorite restaurant, there is a decent chance it will include a side order oftoxicforever chemicals. Thats because many popular chain restaurants wrap their food in packaging made with PFAS, a dangerous class of chemicals that have been linked to an increased risk for some cancers, lower birth weight and immune system suppression.

PFAS are sometimes called forever chemicals because they are resistant to breaking down naturally in the environment, and can remain in peoples bodies for years. In fact, a recent peer-reviewed study byToxicFreeFutureand the University of Washington found PFAS in every sample of breast-milk from fifty mothers in the Seattle area.

Unfortunately, PFAS from food wrappers contaminates water in the communities where it is produced, can seep into the food we eat, and pollute soil and water when packaging is disposed of in a landfill. While the packaging may be used once, the chemicals can last forever in the environment and make their way into our bodies.

Over the past few years,Toxic-FreeFutureconducted several studies on PFAS in food packaging and led a campaign to convince chain restaurants and grocery stores to stop using packaging made with PFAS that has won commitments from more thantwenty corporationsto phase out their use.

But we cant just depend on voluntary measures when it comes to protecting public health. Its time for Congress to take action by passing The Keep Food Containers Safe From PFAS Act, which would prohibit the intentional use of PFAS in food packaging.

Efforts to ban PFAS in food packaging have gained momentum in the wake of a newinvestigation by Consumer Reportsthat found measurable levels of PFAS in more than half of the food packages tested, including wrappers from fast food chains like McDonalds, Burger King, Chick-fil-A and Arbys. Even retailers that promote healthier foods, such as Trader Joes, Cava and Sweetgreen, had food packaging that contained troubling PFAS levels.

Of the 118 products Consumer Reports tested, almost a third (37) had PFAS levels above 20 parts per million (ppm), a limit set by Denmark to protect public health, while 22 products had levels surpassing 100 ppm, which would be banned under a new California law set to go into effect in 2023.Nathans Famous had the products with the two highest average readings 876 ppm and 618 ppm for paper bags used for sides. Other food wrappers with particularly high levels included cookie bags from Burger King (345.7 ppm), cookie bags from Arbys (457.5 ppm) and a sandwich wrapper at Chick-fil-A (553.5 ppm).

This follows three separate studies published byToxic-FreeFuturein 2018, 2019, and 2020 that found indications of PFAS in the packaging of McDonalds Big Mac, Burger Kings Whopper and in take-out containers at Whole Foods Market and Sweetgreen.

The good news is corporations and state governments are taking action. Since the Consumer Reports study was released, Nathans Famous and Chick-fil-A expressed publicly their commitment to phase out the use of PFAS in their food packaging. Also, after years of campaigning byToxic-FreeFuture, the corporation that owns Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes announced their intention to phase out PFAS in their food wrappers at their 27,000 locations in more than 100 countries by 2025. They join twenty more major retailers including McDonalds, Starbucks, Taco Bell, Whole Foods, and Wendys that have also set timelines to phase out PFAS in food packaging.

So far, seven states have enacted laws that ban the intentional use of PFAS in food packaging, including California, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, and Washington. Legislation also is pending in a number of other states.

The danger posed by PFAS has been known for more than 70 years. While described as forever chemicals, they also are called everywhere chemicals because they are used in hundreds of products to make them resistant to heat, water, oil and corrosion.

Despite the well known dangers of PFAS, there has not been enough done to curb its use. It is time for Congress to do what it can to eliminate PFAS in consumer products. Passing the Keep Food Containers Safe from PFAS Act would represent a significant step forward.

(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here)

Excerpt from:

It's time for Congress to ban toxic 'forever chemicals' from food packaging - Food Safety News

As a university administrator and leader, I often think deeply about my responsibilities and commitments to and in the academy. My actions, disposition, and proclivities have never waivered since graduate school. For decades, I have never waited for graduation, conferral of a degree, tenure, or any other formality to speak up and out about injustice, to become unapologetic, or to become an activist in research, teaching, or service. These past few months, I have been thinking more about what it means to be an unapologetic leader/administrator and how I can and should continue to move in these academic streets . As an administrator/leader, specifically during these last few years, I think deeply about how anyone can serve in a leadership role without framing their role in higher education around activism, social justice, and critical consciousness.

I argue that academic processes and machinations in the academy are antiquated and are not framed for anything or anyone to act or serve in a revolutionary capacity. This includes how we lead and how we serve. Because leading for change is so critical, I often revisit how leaders serve and lend support to the academic unit and how we shape the experiences and lives of newly minted assistant professors, students, institutions of higher education, and young people in their communities.

I am particularly concerned about young professionals who reside in academic spaces since we all know that these are the very people who will serve as the next generation of leaders and support systems for the human conditions. Truthfully, it sickens me to hear some of the stories about how new professionals, committed to the good fortune and success of the culture, have to move so "carefully" in these academic streets. In this piece, I viDr. Robin Hughessit the complexities, messiness, and sickness of the tenure process and how unapologetic, critically conscious activist leaders can move in these academic streets.

For years, we have all been privy to discussions, tweets, articles, op-eds, etc., that advise pre-tenure and tenured professors to "watch" what they say throughout their tenure clock. In general, the message is that you betta' be careful until you have earned tenure. The advice suggests that tenure track faculty actually "codeswitch" to navigate the tenure process successfully. . The implication is that this academic codeswitching sends a pledge of allegiance, a promise of collegiality, and an air of submission to those who might be voting on a case. The pre-tenured are expected to invest in the form of dispositional passing where faculty members move in and out of academic spaces by engaging in codeswitching.

Tenured faculty advise new professionals to edit their communication style. This sends a message to play well in the sandbox, no matter how much dirt is kicked. Codeswitching also evokes a strange change in voice inflectionsto fit in or "pass" (used to be referred to as talking "proper" back in the daywhich is also problematic). Ultimately, the subtext is to NOT place any pressure on or change the level of comfortability on anyone in the academic setting who might hold some perceived power. Do not offend or disrupt long-established organizations or the academic "normal and norms," which are frequently oppressive.There are many who walk this supposedly thin line and pass and switch in order to fit in until awarded tenure. They often claim after tenure is granted, I will speak up. In fact, they do suddenly become semi-fearless after 6 to 7 years or at least until they quiet down before going up for full.

To be clear, I describe "code-switching" in academic settings as audience-dependent. More, code-switching can become quite complex and cumbersome. In fact, it is a kind of forced dispositional passing, where faculty resort to dispositional switching depending on who might be seated at the proverbial "table ."

Passing or switching occurs in organizations and places beyond academic settings. For instance, I have also witnessed my twenty-somethings, the very ones who grew up in my house, talk about being careful and sparing others' feelings when broaching particular topics related to race and racism. They, too, talk(ed) about "code-switching" to fit in. Teaching my children to transgress took some time to intentionally move them into the disruptive, resistant, and unapologetic dispositions. The three still move in and out of the freedom of discourse and disposition, sometimes with trepidation, care, and sometimes relentlessly.I have constantly reminded them, be prepared for the consequences when you do roll up.

Nevertheless, no matter the context, there is a fear, discomfort, and stress intimately and intricately tied to the possibility of a threat of unforeseen retribution. In the case of the pre-tenured faculty, I argue that they are expected to accommodate Tom's incessant foolery throughout the process with little to no pushback. This academic normality can be mentally exhausting, culturally taxing, and perplexing, yet rarely stopped. In other contexts, again, the responses are similar. For instance, on the one hand, my children talked about the probable loss of friendships and positioning with friends and school relationships if and when they spoke up. Yet, on the other hand, when they code-switched, they complained about a loss of freedoms, not being heard, and feeling like they always had to change who they were to make others feel good. again, I remind them when you roll two-faced, it can be tricky deciding how many washcloths you need, and which face to wash first.

In the academy, the story is pretty similar to my children's experience; there is the perception that if one does not code-switch, there could be dire and grave consequences. Those consequences include an inability to gain perceived upward mobility, loss of tenure, and seats at the table, among other so-called benefits [ such as career advancements for oneself, white investments without considering ones own cultural capital and never considering benefits to the collective]. While I would like to remain hopeful that the tenure status will focus research, teaching, and service more on the human condition, world challenges, and my hope springs eternal for change, such has rarely been the case. Ultimately, while critically conscious and unapologetic leaders claim to be committed servants to the many needs, challenges, and changes that the world and humanity demand, I have witnessed a culture of social reproduction in the academy. And, what we have reproduced has little to do with how teaching, research, and service are all connected to affect change in the human condition, but a lot to do with ones own upward mobility and career trajectory.

Today, as I reflect on and critique my leadership, I have to ask, how do activist and unapologetic leaders move organizations in socially conscious ways? What should I/we be doing to support healthy and equitable organizational systems? How should I/we be leading--especially for those who claim to be scholar/ administrator activists and unapologeticdecades before it became a "thing," "cute," or "sexy." June 2020 sure seemed to start a trend. I find it offensive for so many reasons. As conscious administrators, we all know that the bigger picture affects change worldwide, NOT just a myopic focus on one's tiny discipline and career. We also know that our "fame" comfortably and succinctly resides in the ivory tower vis-a-vis conferences and journals read by a small number of individuals in the academic setting [higher ed fame]. My reality check? Compare the hundreds of millions who read and follow every move that the Kardashians and King James make to the hundreds and sometimes thousands who follow the work of us academics.

So what does all of this mean? What does or should an activist, unapologetic leader be doing?

The activist and unapologetic university administrator:

1. Serves as a primary role model and mentor in influencing change, equity, and racial justice through their work on campus and via work with external communities. In doing so, they are fearless and unapologeticALL of the time.As a repercussion, they are not always invited back to the party at all.

2. Moves with deliberate, intentional speed and action. They don't claim, "these things take time." Instead, they move quickly and consciously in the here and the now. They push back on the pushback.

3. Is fearless, disruptive, critically conscious, and walks the talkAll of the time. They have made actual changes on their campuses and act as support systems in the fight against institutionalized and structural racism. They take a seat at the table or lay the flatware for a new table to be set.

4. Simply does not code-switch. In fact, they view code-switching as a performative and selfish way to maintain and promote their own individualistic academic work-life and well-being. In fact, code-switching perpetuates institutionalized racism and white fragility.

5. They take what others would regard as "risks" because that is what you are supposed to do (risks need to be deconstructed).

6, They speak up from the proverbial table all of the time and work towards creating new tables. They view the traditional table as a space where protecting the property rights of structural racism is typically valued and never questioned or deconstructed.

7. For these leaders, academic growth is spurred by the human condition, love, and care for the culture, humanity, and young people. They are equally concerned for and committed to the potential for growth for a broad-reaching collective of people who have traditionally been marginalized, traumatized, victimized, and exploited.

The unapologetic goals are neither individualistic nor do they come without complication and complexities. However, they do not come without fearlessness. They do not cower and are not quiet. In other words, they speak up way before tenure, dissertation in hand, full professor, deanship, organizational leadership etc. etc. etc. They do not engage in disposition of situational and academic passing. Simply stated, they work from a framework of critical change and challenge how decisions are made within organizations purposefully built to perpetuate structural and institutionalized Tom Foolery and racism.

Dr. Robin Hughes is Dean of the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior and professor of Educational Leadership|College Student Personnel at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

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7 Characteristics of an Activist and Unapologetic Leader: Aint No Code-switching or Dispositional Passing Involved - Diverse: Issues in Higher...

Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, and other donors are committing $50 million to help fix the childcare crisis in New York City.

And the city government ismatching the donation with $50 million of its own.

The Bezos Family Foundation, Ohanian, and other donors announced their commitment to Robin Hood, a charity that works to alleviate problems caused by poverty in New York City, at a benefit held this week. The big name donations are just a drop in the $7 billion bucket that the state has proposed to contribute to childcare this year.

The fund is a public-private partnership, a collaboration between the government agency and a private-sector company that can be used to bankroll projects. This type of relationship has existed for years.

In response to Insider's request for comment, Elyse Rowe, Director of Communications at the Bezos Family Foundation, noted that the organization has previously supported Robin Hood, including through an $11 million grant toward Robin Hood's Fund for Early Learning in 2017.

Alexis Ohanian and the New York City mayor's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Charity isn't sustainable unless it's paired with solid public investment, experts say

The money comes at a time when the pandemic made a childcare crisis in New York City and across the country even worse. Between 2014 and 2019, the number of providers in New York state dropped by 3,300, according to The Times Union.In several parts of the city, there is only one child care spot available for every five infants, according to state data.

It's holding many parents back from re-entering the labor force after the pandemic exodus. Many quit in search of higher pay, remote work, and safer working conditions, but a lot of parents left their jobs to take care of their kids.

Which means this fresh $100 million will go far to address those problems. But relying on the private sector to fix social problems may be unsustainable in the long run, even if its contributions are immediately useful.

"In general, it is a mistake to rely on private interests who provide these sorts of public goods," Pat Garofalo, the director of state and local policy at the left-leaning American Economic Liberties Project told Insider. "That's not how you want to provide early childcare education, which history shows should be in the realm of the public."

That tracks with a 2021 report by New York State Senator Jabari Brisport's office and the Alliance for Quality Education which found that a history of "treating and funding child care as a private service rather than vital public infrastructure has left the system on the verge of collapse."

The report went on to say that "piecemeal approaches and temporary solutions have kept New York's child care system on life support, many child care centers have already been forced to close, and parents are struggling to access the child care they need."

After all, Jayce Farmer, a public policy professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told Insider that wealthy private donors "aren't really contractually committed to making long term and permanent funding commitments." Government investments, on the other hand, provide "a good chance that that's a sustainable funding choice."

Garofalo has another idea for getting the ultrawealthy to contribute to public coffers on a regular basis. He says that taxing companies like Amazon directly, as well as the people who run them, is a more effective way of ensuring that services like childcare programs are funded. He also suggested that forgoing this tax income means communities are losing out on money they are entitled to.

"The public has, to a very large extent, helped Amazon build its business," Garofalo said. "Subsidies helped Jeff Bezos get his riches, a tiny fraction of which he puts into public programs."

Amazon has won more than $4.18 billion in government subsidies throughout the United States since 2012, a study published this year by UNI Global Union, a union federation for the skills and service sectors, found.

For now though, Jason Cone, chief public policy officer at Robin Hood, told Insider that public-private partnerships are "fertile ground" to take risks on "unproven interventions that the government isn't ready to take."

"Philanthropy has to be very intentional, and I think Robin Hood is very intentional," he said. "Our goal is not to replace government, it's to make the best business case for societal investments. Public-private partnerships are really necessary, and I don't think we can solve these problems by just doing one or the other."

Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify that Alexis Ohanian and the Bezos Family Foundation are donating a total of $35 million to the fund, not $50 million. The difference was provided by "other donors."

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Jeff Bezos and Alexis Ohanian, are pouring $35 million into NYC's childcare crisis - Business Insider Africa

Its a full house at Herrin Hopper and Holly Harper's four-unit home in Takoma Park.

The pair of single moms bought their home together and moved in with their kids during the summer of 2020.

"We were both separated and quite frankly lonely, and we wanted to not be so isolated anymore," Herrin said.

Soon after, they rented the basement to another single mom, Leandra Nichola, and the top unit to their friend, Jen Jacobs, who was tired of overpaying for a small space by herself.

Now living at the home are four adults, five children and three dogs.

Theyre called intentional communities a group of people with common values who choose to live together or share resources. The Foundation for Intentional Community estimates there are more than 3,500 intentional communities in the United States.

"Weve created a village and just like any village, we have ups and we have downs. Life happens, disagreements, joys but overall having the support network of close people that feel like family has been just priceless," Harper said.

Holly and Herrin are now helping more single parents get started.

"There's two things, its the emotional readiness can you find a person that you're willing to enter in a family relationship with, Harper said. "Then you need to just understand your financial readiness."

Holly and Herrin understand buying a home is unaffordable for many right now, even in groups.

The two own a second property in the area, and theyre now working with another single parent to build her own community.

They've gotten a lot of questions from people around the world.

Last week, they had 15 people come to their house for an information session. Holly's working on compiling all their resources so she can create a guide book of sorts to help others find their own sense community.

"Being a single mom, post divorce, separation or whatever life circumstances are, it can be very isolating," Hopper said. "To have created a different way of living, theres just been a ton of interest."

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Single Moms Buy Home in DC to Save Costs, Build Community - NBC4 Washington

Health and medicine | News releases | Politics and government | Population Health | Public Health

May 7, 2022

Prescribed forest fires are a necessary tool for controlling major wildfires and eventually limiting wildfire smoke and its harmful impact on health. Pictured is a 2019 prescribed burn in the Deschutes National Forest in Central Oregon.Mitch Maxson/The Nature Conservancy

All forest fire smoke is bad for people, but not all fires in forests are bad.

This is the conundrum faced by experts in forest management and public health: Climate change and decades of fire suppression that have increased fuels are contributing to larger and more intense wildfires and, in order to improve forest health and reduce these explosive fires, prescribed and managed fire is necessary.

These intentional fires some deliberately set and others unintended but allowed to burn under control will reduce the intensity of wildfire smoke in the long run, but they are still creating health-impacting smoke, often hitting populations least protected from exposure to smoke.

To find consensus on how to deal with the impacts of all fires on dry Western forests, the University of Washington and The Nature Conservancy led a series of conversations involving roughly 60 experts charged with keeping forests and people healthy. The Science for Nature and People Partnership led the organization of these discussions.

On May 2, more than two dozen of those participants published a paper in the journal Current Environmental Health Reports that is part review of current scientific understanding of the issues and health impacts and part consensus report on how to deal with them.

It started as a conversation between experts who think about fire from really different angles in order to find how we can address fire through an interdisciplinary lens, said lead author Savannah DEvelyn, a postdoctoral fellow in UWs Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences. It took a little bit to get to the fact that it was really smoke that brought us all together. We kind of had to set a baseline for what peoples starting points were all smoke is bad smoke from a public health perspective, but we cant do fire management without more fire.

That working group comprised of scientists, practitioners and managers who specialize in areas of forest and fire ecology, fire safety, air quality, health care and public health agreed on six statements and recommendations as part of its interdisciplinary approach to the issues.

The Nature Conservancy is dedicated to an evidence-based approach to forest and fire management practices that supports the health of both nature and people. These consensus statements aim to serve as guideposts for forest health and public health professionals to work together to promote healthy and resilient forests and communities, said Ryan Haugo, co-author and director of conservation science for The Nature Conservancy in Oregon.

A 2019 prescribed fire in the Deschutes National Forest in Central Oregon.Mitch Maxson/The Nature Conservancy

The first consensus statement addresses the issue of the long-running effort to suppress all forest fires versus the historic practices of Indigenous peoples:

We recognize the need to listen to and integrate a diversity of perspectives, in particular those embodied by Indigenous peoples who have successfully used fire as an ecological tool for thousands of years, the authors wrote.

Ive often heard from Tribal leaders how controlled burns were one of many tools they employed historically to steward healthy ecosystems, said Gillian Mittelstaedt, co-author and executive director of the Tribal Healthy HomesNetwork. This Tribal knowledge has been overlooked, perilously, during decades of European colonization, and federal land management practices. It is only in recent years, as forest ecosystems decline in health, that Western science has begun to recognize and learn from the innate sensibility and sustainability of traditional Tribal burning practices.

Here are the other five consensus statements:

In their conclusion, the authors point out that when all stakeholders work together to combat this climate and public health crisis, communities will be more able to meet these goals, both during and outside of wildfire season.

Extra attention must be given to people who have more smoke exposure, are more likely to experience health problems from smoke, and who dont have enough support to anticipate, adapt, respond or recover from smoke, addedDr. June Spector, senior author and associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences in the UW School of Public Health. These disproportionately affected populations must be included in decision-making to address inequities in smoke health impacts.

DEvelyn hopes the paper will inspire more interagency and cross-disciplinary efforts and funding for research and preparation.

There are really wonderful community organizations working to make sure that people have access to clean air. And, there are really wonderful organizations working to do as much prescribed burning as theyre allowed to lessen the smoke or lessen the severity of wildfires when they come through, DEvelyn said. But there are gaps where communities, organizations and researchers could be collaborating to have an even bigger impact on preparedness.

A 2019 prescribed fire in the Deschutes National Forest in Central Oregon.Mitch Maxson/The Nature Conservancy

Other co-authors are Jihoon Jung, Ernesto Alvarado, Jill Baumgartner, PeteCaligiuri, R. Keala Hagmann, Sarah Henderson, Paul Hessburg, Sean Hopkins, Edward Kasner, Meg Krawchuk, Jennifer Krenz, Jamie Lydersen, Miriam E. Marlier, Yuta J. Masuda, Kerry Metlen, Susan Prichard, Claire Schollaert, Edward Smith, Jens Stevens, Christopher Tessum, Carolyn Reeb-Whitaker, Joseph Wilkins, Nicholas Wolff, Leah Wood.

For author affiliations, please see the publication.

This research was funded by Science for Nature and People Partnerships, The Nature Conservancy and CDCs National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

###

For more information, contact DEvelyn at sdevelyn@uw.edu.

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Consensus approach proposed to protect human health from intentional and wild forest fires - University of Washington

At 22, I wanted a room of ones own. At 32, I wanted a cacophonyanything but the deafening, lonely silence of pandemic isolation and new motherhood, a cosmic sucker punch.

It was during this time that I traded ambition for resignation, downloading TikTok to whittle away spare minutes between feedings, volume down so I could listen for the baby. I exacerbated my under-eye circles swiping through makeup tutorials; I watched home chefs stick their fingers in focaccia dough, smooth as the contours of my weary brain; and I fell in love with #CommuneTok, a variety of viral content where people live off the land and others kindness.

In the past two years, theres been a wave of interest in alternative lifestyles, on and off the apps: Cole Trevino, aka @CommuneCowboy, who pans over mist floating on a nearby hill, a creek overlooking an abandoned bus, a dinner table set for 12, a fire in the wood stove. @julesamanita, who lifts a basket of foraged mushrooms to the camera under text explaining that they live with 70 adult residents and 13 kids at Virginias Twin Oaks, sharing income and governing collectively.

We sustain ourselves by selling heirloom seeds, tofu, and hammocks, they write, a verdant forest in the background. Ask me anything.

Mostly, the fantasy is white, youthful, and able-bodied, and there are no children in the background killing the pastoral vibe. Still, they exist off-screenthe nitty-gritty of parenting doesnt lend itself to viral videos, but like farming, its a job best undertaken by the collective.

As my son grew from a doughy newborn to an expressive toddler, I thought of workdays in my pre-pandemic life, hustling to a computer screen with my $12 salad of unknown provenance. In theory, we have a choice between plugging a dam of emails or watching our labors sprout each spring. I thought of all the friends I had whod recently escaped from New York to places where you could quarantine in sunlight.

Touch grass, the internet retort goes. How many pandemic-era mothers would sell their hair, Jo March-style, for that very privilege? More to the point: If a lonely, pandemic-era mother touches grass and no one but the preverbal child strapped on her back is there to witness it, does she exist at all?

I couldnt imagine continuing down the same long, narrow tunnel of loss. First it was my coworkers, then my community, then my sense of self. There arent babies in these videos, but theres room for them. If the side effect of parenting in unprecedented times is invisibility, I simply wanted to exist in some fresh air in a communal arrangement. Witness me, I thought, and tell me how you got your kid to sleep at night.

As my son grew from a doughy newborn to an expressive toddler, I thought of workdays in my pre-pandemic life, hustling to a computer screen with my $12 salad of unknown provenance.

SUNY Oneonta professor Mark Ferrara explores this in his book American Community, which follows the span of several intentional communities from colonial era to the present. In graduate school, he looked at depictions of utopia in literature, and it was a logical next step to find their real-life manifestations. After undertaking research for his book, he wound up moving into Ithacas EcoVillage, a cohousing community.

I became interested in a historical overview of the 40 communities that I picked . . . which found a way to live so that people could share, to varying degrees, the resources of the community, and make sure that everybody enjoyed a certain level of well-being, he said. Rather than, for example, the kind of income inequality we see in the Gilded Age, in the late 19th century, and today.

Then and now, childcare was enmeshed with income, resources, and support, or lack thereof. Our ability to parent hinges on the fulfillment of other needsfood on the table, secure housing, schools that are safe and functional.

[Photo: Farsai Chaikulngamdee/Unsplash]Utopian idealism doesnt feel specific to this moment because . . . it isnt. Sometimes, thinking of my pastoral fantasies, I felt selfish. There had always been mothers terrified of missing work or finding a safe place to dock their kid during a shiftthey had just flown entirely below my privileged twentysomething radar. Ferrara pointed to Skaneateles in upstate New York, an 1840s compound where residents raised children entirely collectively.

At San Diegos Lomaland, a late 19th- and early 20th-century theosophical community, local children and orphans were educated on a de facto sliding scale, sometimes free, in alignment with their mission to prepare destitute and homeless children to become workers for humanity. Frequently, the attitude of these bygone groups was an ethos of larger responsibilityto better not just members, but mankind.

The Atomic Era familyFather, Mother, Sister, Brotherdidnt spring from the ether. Its a trend that took root after assembly lines and wage labor dramatically transformed daily life and social structures, displacing multigenerational farming families. My fantasy is collective; somewhere, another mother is pining for her very own Ballerina Farm. Theres room for every archetype on the apps, but historically, the nuclear clan seems to have had better marketing.

I began perusing alternatives to my own reality on the website for the Foundation for Intentional Community. The listings run a wide gamut, and like groups of yore, some have families baked into their structures where others (subtly or not so subtly) exclude them. Only a few held the romantic allure of those TikToks. Instead, I found as many communities as there are varieties of lonelinesshighly specific, usually in the shape of god or family.

Its hard to see myself, my husband, or our unruly spawn worshipping with Sufis in Silver City, New Mexico. You can take mushrooms in a Brooklyn apartment; I should probably abstain. Im still glad these exist (because not everything needs to be for everyone, although Id argue that most of us could benefit from interdependence). If you leave the United States, you can become a part of collective experiments on other continents, places where it feels distinctly less counter to the prevailing culture: Israels kibbutz, Copenhagens Freetown Christiania.

In Northampton, Massachusetts, Yochai Gal and Sarah Jackson live with their young son at Rocky Hill, a cohousing community founded in 2006 with 28 private homes on a large, forested parcel of land. Through workdays, members of the community tend to common spaces and grounds, and prior to the pandemic, there were shared meals each Sunday night. When they relocated from the Boston area, Gal was already familiar with communal livinghed grown up on a kibbutzbut the idea was more novel to Jackson.

Where Gal claims that, because of his upbringing, the concept of intentional communities has never not been present,Jackson grew up in homogeneous, small-town New England: white, mostly Protestant, she said. It was very insular, and very common of American life in general: Everybodys independent, you fend for yourself, you take care of yourself.

As they established relationships with their community, they found an intergenerational environment where their son could roam from house to house, play in the fresh air, and form bonds with the other children up and down the cul-de-sacs. The pavement alone disrupts the perfect, tidy vision of the commune kale crops, but to me, it sounded intoxicatingpermission to let down your defenses even momentarily.

[Photo: Tegan Mierle/Unsplash]The free-range child is alive and well in cohousing because you can breathe that sigh of relief knowing there are so many other pairs of eyes, Jackson said. Shes gotten calls to corroborate that her son is allowed to bum a popsicle from a neighbors fridge, and reports of his whereabouts by the sandbox.

I feel like so many of my friends who are mothers right now have to micromanage their kids lives, she said. Theres so much fear, and theres so little independence kids are granted. They get to have it here.

After a traumatic incident with their sons daycare, the aftermath of which made him stop sleeping entirely, their neighbors transformed from co-custodians of the shared Rocky Hill lawnmowers into a lifeline. Waking every 30 to 45 minutes, night after night, Jackson developed shingles; she and Gal were frayed, physically and otherwise.

I remember people sent emails around and said, Theyre having a really hard time, and people started bringing food to our house, even people who frankly dont participate that much in community. All of a sudden, the guy who I consider one of our grumpy neighbors shows up at the door . . . and is like, Heres some soup,' Jackson said.

[The community] organized meals for us, so we never had to cook, Gal said. They did our laundry. They walked our dog. They did everything for us, for weeks.

Where cohousing might be the bridge between participating in normal workaday life and sharing resources like time and physical space, communes often form entire ecosystems unto themselvesliving, working, and recreation. This is where many of the TikToks that initially seduced me fall: everything shared, including income and property.

At Alpha Farm in Deadwood, Oregon, residents cover their needs by working the area mail routes and growing food on the property. Kat Berrones is a mother of four who moved west from Austin with her two smallest children to live on the farm as a single parent. She visited her brother during the summer and by the fall, shed settled there.

It spoke to my soul, she said. I knew this is where I was meant to be; this was it.

Shes the only parent in the commune currently, but Alphawhose 93-year-old founder still lives therewas once home to several generations of kids. I stayed tuned to the farms Instagram account, where Id initially reached out. Weeks after we spoke, there was a photo of a mealtime gathering over bright oilcloth-covered tables, a bunch of long-haired men and women smiling unselfconsciously and brandishing peace signs. The room is tidy and full of windows.

Throughout our call, the voices of Berroness two toddlers reverberated in the background, and she sounded as composed as any parent trying to multitask, pausing occasionally to resolve disputes (Dont push!), to witness tricks. She described their daysfilling water from the tank in the nearby farmhouse, hauling wood for a fire, morning hikes on the propertys 280 acres, and dinners with the rest of their cohort.

What is it that makes Alpha so magical, I asked? What made that decision, to uproot from Texas, so intuitive?

When we were in Austin, we were in a home, of course, but it felt so isolated, Berrones said. I was super depressed, and it was hard to even want to do anything, and so cloistered.

In her previous life, as a stay-at-home mom, she was often marooned inside four walls, struggling alone with her depression and responsibilities.

There are some mornings where Im like, Damn it. Ive got to walk all the way over here to go get wood to get the lodge warm, make cereal. It is a struggle, but I would rather do that than be at my house in Austin alone and depressed, doing nothing and wondering how much longer I can take it, she said.

Alpha Farm and Rocky Hill, despite their lack of formal infrastructure for childcare or parents, represent a certain safety net. You cant drown unnoticed when there are other people watching you. And the words Berrones used to describe her communitycozy, welcoming, acceptingfeel distinctly opposite to the environments most mothers find outside their doors. Youve never felt such a withering stare if you parent the wrong way in public; until you parent any way in public. Youve never been judged so ferociously as when a train car finds your spawn obnoxious.

That permission to be human is what communal living, at its best, can offer. This stands to benefit anyone, parent or otherwise, especially those pushed to societys edges. Living in such an arrangement entails an informal contract to treat each member like they matterto acknowledge, at a minimum, that my existence depends on yours, and vice versa.

Even if theyve bettered the lives of the people I spoke to, everyone also emphasized that these communities arent oases. They arent perfect; they arent cure-alls. Theyre comprised of human beings, and that makeup will shape the overall experience. Maybe the reason well-known groups like those in Ferraras book ultimately shuttered is because a small but well-meaning commune is still made of imperfect people who cant remedy larger social ills.

This was a necessary pin in whatever fantasy still floated through my daydreams. I would never live on the TikTok commune. If anything, Id live in the one I could afford, wherever that was, with the people whod already arrived there, whoever they were. Real life doesnt fit inside a 30-second clip.

If we look back at the international communities, theyre always pushing back against the status quo, and as they do that, theyre offering another vision of what society could be like.

Cohousing communities often reflect larger issues, demographically: segregated, largely white, affluent. Communes like Alpha often skew very young and child-free, perhaps culturally alienating. Still, theyre positing an alternative. Theyre arguing that we can scrap what hasnt worked and try another way.

If we look back at the international communities, theyre always pushing back against the status quo, and as they do that, theyre offering another vision of what society could be like, Ferrara mused.

I think that that might be a positive way to be looking at these intentional communities: not as a solution for all social ills, he said. If I just join EcoVillage, or if I just join this community, everything will be great.' But were challenging the values of the existing order that we find exploitative. Were offering a new model. Hopefully, society will eventually join us.

Join me, I want to say. I have the pioneers itch to build something from scratch, even though I lack the capital and the time and the cohort of interested friends. In the intervening monthsmy child is almost 2Ive come a long way since my #CommuneTok summer. Ive found remote work and a friend who lives in my building. I can no longer see a future in viral videos, and I wouldnt trust myself to discern between species of mushroom.

The reality is, like most things, messier than the fantasy, and if were going to do it, it will be togetherme, my son, and the other mothers alone behind a screen, determined to find a sunnier place.

Linnie Greene lives in Jersey City, New Jersey. You can find her work in outlets like The New York Times, Pitchfork, and Hobart, and on her website.

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The allure of CommuneTok - Fast Company