It’s really hard to stay optimistic in this time of uncertainty. As of today, everyone in the Bay Area is supposed to stay at home. And for many, that's scary! But one of our mission pillars is to rebuild our capacity to heal one another and to re-imagine collective power. That’s why we want to share some real gems that we’ve come across in the last few days.  

Before we were on COVID-19 lockdown, Italy was in lockdown. Check out this video of a deserted street in Italy filled with hope as neighbors lean out their windows to sing together. As one twitter user noted: "People breaking out in song, lifting each other's spirits during this tragedy, is an act of striking beauty. It's a reminder that, especially during a tragedy, the human spirit keeps us all going in hope. We shine our best in the darkness."

Mutual aid groups on social media, the streets, and at Coop 789

So many mutual aid groups are popping up! 
For example, @covid19mutualaid is an Instagram account where “regular folks, especially folks of color, immigrants, [and] people with disabilities…” can share information and find community. 

The New York group, the Guardian Angels, are putting their bodies on the line to protect Asian elders from further hate crimes. 

And at Coop 789 (our first community-owned property), the Resident Owners used the text thread that they formed when organizing to buy their building from their former landlord to share information and show solidarity with one other! 

Got lunch plans today?

Are you working remotely with no one to hang out with at lunch time today? Or do you just need a break form the chaos at noon and wanna hang out with other folks who believe that housing is a human right? Then join us TODAY at NOON for our webinar orientation! RSVP here for webinar login details.

Attn: EB PREC Members!

After some serious thought, we’re moving our Member Meeting (this Thursday at 6:30PM) to be fully virtual to protect our community members' health. That said, we’re not letting the virus stop us! We look forward to seeing you all as we elect new leaders to our board, and figure out ways to creatively support each other through these trying times. If you haven't yet, RSVP here for Zoom login details.

Agenda:

• 6:30-6:45 Virtual Chat Opens - Grab your dinner and get cozy at your computer screen or on your phone!
• 6:45-7:30 Meet the Candidates & Vote - Hear from your fellow members who are running for the EB PREC board, and vote in our online poll.
• 7:30-8:00 Community Care Brainstorm - A discussion about how the coronavirus is affecting our communities and what support each of us needs or can give through this time.

We'll be voting on the Board positions of Governance Director and Financial Director. All member-owners of EB PREC can vote on Governance Director and Financial Director seats.

Membership:

You need to be a member to participate. Not a member yet? Become a Community Owner here and/or Investor Owner here.

Not sure if your membership is complete? Email secretary@ebprec.org.

Good Reads! 

TOOLKIT: Pathways to a People's Economy

The New Economy Coalition launched a toolkit to help answer the question, "If we resist the current extractive economic model, what will replace it?" The toolkit focuses on the following Policy Areas:

• Own our workplaces;
• Build our neighborhoods;
• Finance our future; and
• Restore our planet

And guess who was featured in the case study for the "Build our neighborhoods" section?! We were! Checkout the toolkit here.
PODCAST: The Response: A Permanent Real Estate Cooperative to combat the affordable housing crisis

For the past two years, The Response podcast series has explored the remarkable communities that come together in the aftermath of disasters (and how they are building increased resilience before disasters and other disruptions occur). Listen to the episode about EB PREC here!

BLOG POST: "We shine our best in the darkness": a list of nice headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic

ICYMI, the sections above about songs in Italy and the mutual aid groups popping up were actually excerpts from our longer blog post that we posted last Saturday. For a more complete list of good news, check out our blog post here.