Tampa Bay activists practice solidarity during hurricane season

A handful of activists in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties are taking requests for food, clothing and cash donations during the 2021 hurricane season, creating a mutual-aid economy in addition to city and county-led programs.

Grassroots organizations in many U.S. cities resort to mutual aid, or resource sharing, to ensure community members have access to basic necessities. 

In Tampa Bay, multiple groups have been fundraising on social media to gather donations for those in need, and to organize share fairs where community members can show up and gather food and supplies, free of charge.

During hurricane season, demand for these basic necessities increases.

While local municipalities opened emergency shelters and sandbag distribution sites during 2021’s first major storm, Hurricane Elsa, some say these measures are not enough for the area’s most vulnerable citizens. 

One member of Progressive People’s Action (PPA), a Pinellas-based organization that distributes care packages of food, water and hygiene kits, believes his group is filling in for what should be the local government’s responsibility, ahead of what’s predicted to be an active hurricane season.

“If the government was doing what it needed to make sure that all of its citizens were well taken care of, and had things well in order, there would be absolutely no need for mutual aid groups,” PPA member Dylan Bryant said. “And it could even be done much more efficiently at the governmental level rather than at the citizen level.”

Pinellas County does serve food and water at hurricane shelters, and cities such as St. Petersburg fund multiple food, water and clothing donation sites. But PPA still finds itself responding to high demand for basic goods before and during hurricane season. 

Bryant claims to have distributed well over 500 care packages since the group formed in late 2020.

“We started with assembling about 50 packages at a time, but we started burning through those and then it became more cost efficient to do 100 at a time. So since February or March we’ve been doing 100 at a time,” he said.

Despite a growth in demand for PPA’s services, leaders from Pinellas County’s largest city argue their own efforts in combating homelessness and hunger have caused a decrease in both. 

“The idea that the City of St. Petersburg doesn’t provide social services, funding to social services or help for citizens in need is flat wrong,” said Benjamin Kirby, communications director for the St. Pete mayor’s office, in an email.

According to Kirby, programs like the Power of Change, which uses repurposed parking meters as donation sites, have contributed significant funding for the police department’s homelessness unit. 

The director also pointed to multiple social funding increases for fiscal year 2022, which he claims is a “shared priority” among city leaders. But Bryant and the PPA still believe the city and county could be doing more for elderly, disabled or homeless citizens. 

While Bryant says PPA hopes to grow large enough to petition elected leaders into providing more basic necessities to the people, other activists say there is a moral difference between what the state and mutual aid groups can provide.

Jimmy Dunson, co-founder of the Mutual Aid Disaster Relief network, says that while city and county programs provide charity, mutual aid is distinguished by its basis in solidarity. 

“At best, charity gives what is needed physically, but can also reinforce a sense of powerlessness and stigma among those impacted,” Dunson said. “Solidarity, in contrast, joins with those most impacted and shares resources, but also shares power as well.”

When Hurricane Irma scraped Florida’s west coast in 2017, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief helped people get supplies and fix their homes. 

Dunson recalled one instance where his volunteer team was able to deliver food and medication to a man who had lost power during the storm. While reciprocal donations are not required for these services, Dunson says the man returned the favor by donating spare medical supplies.

“Everybody gives what they can and receives what they need,” Dunson explained. “And those impacted are not powerless victims, or empty vessels to be filled with canned goods or blankets.

“They’re powerful actors who have a stake in their own recovery,” he said.

Right now, local mutual aid groups are preparing for hurricane season by doing what they always do: amplifying people’s donation requests.

While groups such as PPA specialize in care packages, all of these organizations allow people to ask for specific donations. These requests are often posted online, and filled to the best of the community’s ability. During emergencies, some mutual aid groups also canvass the streets to find people in need of assistance.

According to Angel D’Angelo, a member of the Restorative Justice Coalition in Tampa, his group visited neighborhoods experiencing power outages during past storms to offer food and water. The activist said that people are receptive to the volunteers, describing a time when the group rallied enough community members to grill out with donated food during a blackout.

While the coalition may not be the first choice to distribute sandbags or plywood in preparation for hurricanes, D’Angelo says it has been an “unexpected, but very welcomed, lifeline” for people dealing with their aftermath.

Those in need can reach out to mutual aid groups directly through social media messaging or email to make donation requests for cash, supplies or service. Most groups also stay up-to-date listing all available public services from the cities and counties surrounding Tampa Bay. 

Resources for hurricane safety and mutual aid

Hurricane preparedness resources:

• Hillsborough Disaster Planning Guide
• Pinellas Hurricane Guide
• St. Pete’s Hurricane Safety Page
• Tampa’s Hurricane Guide

Groups providing mutual aid in 2021:

• Mutual Aid Disaster Relief
• Progressive People’s Action
• Restorative Justice Coalition
• St. Pete – Food Not Bombs
• Tampa – Food Not Bombs