What we do

Our first challenge is to overcome the fragmentation and isolation pushed on us by modern society. Let’s know our neighbors, and our neighbors’ neighbors. Let’s create trust among ourselves, so we can understand each other, support each other, and rely on each other.  When we know our common purpose, we know our common ground, and we can resolve disagreements and grow stronger as a community

We must also ensure that we all have an equitable say in decisions that affect our neighborhood. It’s time to move past the old dogmas of D vs. R, liberal vs. conservative, urban vs. rural. We all have differences, but it's important we don't let them from realizing what we all collectively need and prevent us from challenging those who are actually blocking progress. For there to be large-scale change across the country, this idea has to spread, and it must start at the community level.  

Challenges in Petworth require solutions that are tailored to the needs/wants of the community in Petworth. We, the community, should decide the what future of Petworth looks like, not outside entities (not real estate developers, not MPD, not NPS). We should push for a greater share of decision-making power for the choices that affect our neighborhood. Let’s align on what we want as a community and advocate for those solutions so that we’re active co-creators and  not not merely consulted or ignored.

We should also aspire to drive change in our neighborhood regarding  the problems plaguing  our nation and our  world. We are, after all, global citizens. Our society faces multiple crises, and we can’t solve them on our own. But how can we ever create the society we want if we aren’t practicing it right now in the spaces we control? When we build sustainable, autonomous communities, we’re proving to ourselves—and to the world—that another way is possible. This is where the change starts: in our neighborhoods, homes, and relationships.

Petworth is a diverse and dynamic community. Between us, we have a huge variety of resources, skills, knowledge, and ideas. By freely sharing and exchanging these assets, , we can meet so many more of our own needs without wasting resources or depending on outside institutions. These systems of exchange, mutual aid networks, are the foundation of meaningful impact.  

Mutual aid gathers resources from the community, distributes it within the community, and trusts the community to decide the best way to use those resources. Mutual aid ensures we’re  accountable to each other, not to some detached philanthropists. The end goal isn’t charity, but empowerment. It’s giving people the tools to meet their needs independently and collectively. Robust mutual aid builds resilience, so we have the capacity to withstand adversity and emerge stronger as a community