In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began rolling across the nation like an invisible, relentless wave, Meghan Archambault understood that lots of people were going to need lots of help with simple needs or complex problems.
“There were people who couldn’t find diapers, baby wipes and other things, and people who saw those items in stock at particular (stores),” said Archambault, who was then a Reno substance-abuse counselor. “What if we had a Facebook group? People wouldn’t have to waste their time running around to different grocery stores or convenience stores to find things that they need. Then the national emergency (declaration) hit and the shutdowns happened.”
On March 16, 2020 – two days after the emergency declaration – Archambault and her husband, Darren, founded the Reno-Sparks Mutual Aid Facebook page, based on a similar site in Denver. “People were posting about what they needed and others were posting information about where they could get those items,” she said. “Then people were filing for unemployment benefits and we started helping people with those claims. We’d do summary recaps of the governor’s press conferences as they were happening.”
The site took off
The Facebook group grew to 1,000 registered members within its first few days; it now has more than 6,600 members with more added each week. “It became this thriving resource and information-sharing network that we see today,” Archambault said.
For nearly two years, group members have helped thousands of strangers in hundreds of ways. They helped families find apartments, pay utility bills and get COVID-19 tests. Members delivered medications to people quarantined at home, gave rides and bus passes to people who needed them, supplied household appliances, medical devices, toys and clothing to families and individuals and fed hundreds of local residents who didn’t have enough to eat.
The need is overwhelming and urgent. Hundreds of thousands of Nevadans lost work in the pandemic and many face evictions. The COVID-19 contagion has killed more than 9,613 residents of the Silver State, which has so far reported more than 680,000 cases of the virus. People’s lives have been thrown into chaos. Some families are scrambling to meet basic needs and many people who had been living on the edge of homelessness have been pushed on to the streets or into shelters.
Some basic rules
Government programs often fall short of getting help to the people who need it, Archambault noted, but an online person-to-person network is fast and nimble. There are no lengthy applications or bureaucratic requirements. No one is too young, too old, too rich or too poor to participate.
“Mutual Aid is something that can cross all kinds of different demographics, social stratification, economic classes, all of that. At its core, it’s a system in which everyone has something to contribute and everyone can benefit. There’s no hierarchical structure and no complicated requirements.” – Meghan Archambault, Reno-Sparks Mutual Aid.
The page has a staff of volunteers who approve new memberships and monitor postings. About 95 percent of Mutual Aid members live in the Reno-Sparks area. “We don’t allow spam bots or (prospective members) who may not be legitimate in some way,” Archambault said. “… We (administrators and moderators) work really well together as a team to filter through everything. No memberships or posts come through without being approved.”
Participants are asked to observe 10 basic rules, including: avoiding public arguments, not making judgments about people’s requests for help, banning hate speech, not asking for cash or posting online fund-raising campaigns, and keeping politics out of the posts.
“Keep scrollin’; no trollin’”
“We don’t find a lot of people who are trying to get by us, who are intentionally breaking the rules,” Archambault said. “We won’t let members ignite an internet dumpster fire; a back-and-forth flame war. That doesn’t happen… The rule is ‘keep scrollin’; no trollin’”
Political statements are banned from posts, as are judgmental comments. Someone may be asking for help getting a car they are living in repaired, she explained, and that’s what should be addressed in the replies. Advising that person to go to a homeless shelter or buy a better car doesn’t help.
“We operate from a place of non-judgment and respecting people’s agency,” Archambault said. “We may not think that what they are doing is the right thing to do, but we’re also not that person. We’re not living their life. We don’t know what their past experience is. Passing judgment or telling them what to do is not really fair to the person asking for help. It often takes a lot for people to ask for help.”
Grassroots groups proliferate
Other grassroots websites also have sprung up locally during the COVID-19 crisis. Those include Unemployment Nevada Information and Help, a Facebook page which was founded in March 2020 to help Nevadans navigate the complexity of unemployment benefits claims and now has more than 50,200 members. Another local network, What Can I Do?, is a Facebook page founded on March 16, 2020 , that provides links to resources and ways people can volunteer to help others, and holds mixers that connect donors/volunteers to non-profit groups.
Liz McFarland, the page administrator, said she and others involved in the Nevada Women’s March wanted to create a way people could find volunteer opportunities and other ways to help people during the pandemic. Non-profit groups including Black Wall Street Reno, Tu Casa Latina, the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, and the Women and Children’s Center often are featured on the site.
An RN&R sidebar to this story lists some of the non-profit groups on the front lines of the pandemic and volunteer opportunities available in the community.
Faith in humanity
“There’s a lot of need out there,” McFarland said. “People lost jobs; rents are going up. A lot of seniors and families find it hard to make ends meet… We’re a grassroots group, not a huge non-profit. We have a lot of small projects happening.”
Although the contagion has brought a lot of suffering, she said her experiences with local volunteers and non-profit groups has been a bright beacon in a dark landscape.
“Neighbors are helping neighbors. People are reaching out for help and they are finding it. People are pretty nice here.” — Liz McFarland, What Can I Do? Facebook page.
Empathy is contagious. New groups keep popping up to help neighbors they have never met.
Family Soup Mutual Aid
In January, Nicole Anagapesis of Reno started the Facebook page Family Soup Mutual Aid. Its purpose: “strengthening those most vulnerable in our society. Distributing goods to whoever needs it most.”
The community organization facilitates donations to Truckee Meadows’ unhoused population, including warm food and clothing, tarps, and other supplies. Members collect donations of such supplies every Tuesday at the “Believe” sign in Reno City Plaza. They also collect donations from the community via word of mouth, social media, and postings to the group’s Amazon wishlist of supplies and necessities requested by the people they help serve.
Anagapesis also speaks at community meetings and homeless advisory boards to advocate for the rights of the unsheltered, in addition to collaborating with other local mutual-aid groups on outreach, education, and events that will help support homeless residents.
Family Soup Mutual Aid is hosting a music benefit show March 9, starting at 7 p.m. at Dead Ringer Analog Bar, 432 E. 4th St. in Reno. All the proceeds from this event will be donated to Family Soup and other mutual aid organizations in the Reno area. A live art auction is scheduled and several bands will play at the benefit.
Making Christmas happen
Archambault was laid off from her job as a substance abuse counselor when pandemic restrictions kept people away from group sessions and other activities. She is now the communications director for a local state senate candidate. She and her husband, Darren, a graphic artist, have four-year-old twins.”
The Mutual Aid group takes up a lot of her free time, but she said the rewards are frequent and have nothing to do with making money.
“It felt so good that we were able to make Christmas happen for so many families,” Archambault said. “People posted wish lists and so many members wanted to help. We were kind of overwhelmed and disorganized during the holidays in 2020, but last year was actually really cool.”
‘Weird moments of synergy’
Sometimes the stars align. On Christmas Eve Archambault went to Carson City on a toy run and a retired state employee donated a pair of boots for one member and two women’s coats for whomever needed them. As soon as she arrived back in Reno, Archambault received a request from a local group for warm clothing. They were assisting a woman moving out of a dangerous situation who was unable to bring her clothes with her. The coats fit her perfectly.”
In other cases, people have donated bags of children’s’ clothing just prior to requests for those items. One member posted a message about a lost bracelet; another member found and returned it. “We have these weird little moments of synergy,” Archambault said.
No matter how many people are helped, the need is constant and overwhelming. The stories people tell are often heartbreaking.
“It’s infinitely frustrating to see a need you can’t fulfill,” said Archambault, who has testified at city council and county commission meetings to advocate for vulnerable people. “For me and the other administrators it’s important not to lose sight of the need for self care. All of us have to take a step back once in awhile and remind ourselves that there is only so much we can do. … Sometimes it feels like we’re a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.”
Making connections
Still, Reno-Sparks Mutual Aid keeps expanding its reach and looking for more ways to help. The group is now able to distribute Narcan – a drug that can buy time for people who are overdosing on opioids – and train people how to use it. More members join the page every day and dozens of new and varied requests are posted.
“It’s really easy for people to get involved,” Archambault said. “Just join and jump in. Little miracles happen every day.” Last year, for example, a man who wanted to help homeless people during a winter storm wanted to donate $20,000. That offer was referred to the Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality, which in turn collected matching donations and paid for rooms for people who would have weathered the storm on the streets and in camps along the Truckee River.
Everyone is invited
“We see overarching need and people in desperate circumstances,” she said. “Housing costs continue to skyrocket and COVID relief funding is drying up. The government should be doing more… I’d argue that in a perfect world we wouldn’t exist.”
“Mutual Aid gives people a way to help others, sometimes who are living in the same neighborhood with something very tangible. It’s building connections, building community by knowing you are doing good in your own backyard.” – Meghan Archambault, Reno-Sparks Mutual Aid.
This year, she said, the group’s goal is to continue growing and help more people with their immediate needs. And to find ways to reach people offline.
“Not everyone has access to the Internet,” Archambault noted.
Beautiful reporting, Frank. Bless you.
who can contact about some questions