By Prachi Priyam, MD, MPH
Sometimes I come home from a night shift, and all I can think about is spending an hour or two with my dog and my family before I try to catch some sleep before going back to work. Once I’m in my dark room, I break a foundational tenet of good sleep hygiene and pick up my phone. My thumb begins to scroll. Immediately, my attempt to sleep is disrupted by news headlines, e-mails, and social media posts telling me about the latest funding cuts or all of the ways that children, families, and healthcare workers are being attacked both in the United States and also abroad because of the United States.
Sometimes a community member is being evicted. A friend has lost their job. All-Options - a critical organization providing support for people who are trying to decide how and whether to proceed with a pregnancy - may be closing this year. In these quiet moments, simply existing feels exhausting. My friends, colleagues, and I frequently ask each other, “What more can we even do?”
Legislative action is critical, and this is something that many members of the CAFP have already been exposed to or are deeply involved in. The community organizing I am writing about today is about taking a step back and remembering that we are not only physicians - we are a part of a larger community as humans.
This piece isn’t about asking you as a family physician to work more. It’s about considering how you are investing in your community in the same way that you may invest in your family, friendships, personal health, profession, and/or hobbies.
When the world feels a little more challenging to understand every day, engaging with groups that have been working at the local, grassroots level is one way to ground yourself.
In her book We Do This ‘Til We Free Us, writer and abolitionist Mariame Kaba writes that rather than beginning our journeys with the question “What do we have now, and how can we make it better?” we ask ourselves, “What can we imagine for ourselves and the world?”
Let us work through a simple exercise:
No one individual can address all of the urgent needs we’re witnessing, so pick just one thing that lights a fire within you. Time is one of our most valuable commodities. With the daily responsibilities we hold, it can be challenging to consider when to squeeze in more. Like a good SMART goal, consider now how often you want to start engaging with the project you have chosen. The more frequent your engagement, the stronger the bonds you build and the more you feel the hope and strength of being in community.
While community organizing largely feels energy giving and hopeful, there are some weeks and months where we do not have the capacity to do everything we wish to do. If you are looking for organizations to support financially, consider All-Options (a reproductive justice oriented options counseling organization) or the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust (an Indigenous woman-led organization that is working to rematriate land to Indigenous peoples).
Finally, remember too that no organization or individual is perfect. More challenging than building relationships is maintaining them. This requires humility and grace as we all try to grow and work together.
Sample themes & groups to inspire your envisioning
Sample groups that host neighborhood clean up events
Individual Learning & Engagement Opportunities
Are you or your loved ones attending demonstrations and protests? This is a great way to show community solidarity. As physicians, we are uniquely poised to provide protection and care to these efforts as street medics. Many cities and regions have established street medic collectives that can use the support of trusted healthcare workers. The Do No Harm Coalition based out of San Francisco has additional information on what this looks like.
