Posts by Cassandra Brandt
Self-Care for Activists & Volunteers
When we’re in the thick of the fight, advocating for others, raising our voices for the voiceless, it’s possible to nearly forget ourselves and the needs we still have. The needs we are seeking to provide others with are indeed dire, but we can’t help others unless we help ourselves.
Read MoreOutrageous Rent Increases Impact Americans
This winter I was suddenly the only member of my immediate family not facing the very real possibility of homelessness. I’m disabled, so Medicare and my Disability checks pay for a room at an assisted living group home. My disability checks don’t pay enough for me to afford rent on a home by myself.
Read MoreA Very Humanist New Year
In the wake of a tumultuous 2021, we are all looking toward 2022 with understandable trepidation. As humanists, we hope humankind will see a period of relief after the storm for families suffering through the pandemic with food insecurity and economic hardship.
Read MoreFood Insecurity Rising Rapidly: Who Is Being Affected?
Food insecurity is defined as the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food to live an active, healthy lifestyle. It might mean that sometimes you have enough food and sometimes you have healthy food but rarely do you have enough healthy food. Food insecurity is at the worst…
Read MorePeople Without Housing Targeted by City Ordinance in Austin
Early voting on a city ordinance to sweep people without housing out of view is underway in Austin. A ban on public sleeping was lifted in 2019, but now Austin’s homelessness problem has become too visible for some. A May 1 vote will determine whether or not to criminalize being homeless again. Hundreds of jurisdictions…
Read MoreInmates Face Aftermath of Toxic Flood in Florida Jail
Little over a week ago in Florida, hundreds of people (some 315 homes) were evacuated after a leak at Piney Point wastewater reservoir near Tampa. A local jail was also threatened by flooding with toxic water, yet it was only partially evacuated. Most of Manatee County Jail’s prisoners (700+) were crowded upstairs, left behind to…
Read MorePeople with Disabilities Struggle in the Wake of the Blizzard
They say natural disasters don’t discriminate but one would be hard pressed to investigate a hurricane, earthquake, or blizzard in which one particular demographic wasn’t disproportionately hit: the disabled community. The freezing weather swept in on Valentine’s Day weekend and tore through multiple states. Widespread power outages and bursting pipes ensued, flooding homes and leaving…
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