CARE
Appalachia
What's the issue?
There is a serious disconnect between the care that people need to be able to access to thrive, and the care that is available, culturally relevant, safe, and affordable. This disadvantages whole communities where parents and caregivers are undervalued, underpaid, and unable to carry out other work due to caring responsibilities. At the same time, care providers’ work is not unionized, standardized or even legitimized as a profession. Current models rely on contractual arrangements between individuals that leave both caretakers and families open to exploitation through a failure to set standards in pricing and care and provide necessary support protections.
Our
Solution
We are addressing the needs of families and caretakers as articulated by them via a participatory community research project. We are working with regional institutions and partners to build support for and develop a pilot care cooperative in Central Appalachia. We want care workers to be well paid, protected, and adequately resourced while meeting the diverse range of care needs that exist in our communities. We want to provide care workers with a space to organize and invest in macro-scale projects that address needs that cannot be addressed on a caregiver-to-caree level. We want to see a paradigm shift in caregiving for families with multiple and overlapping care needs and new opportunities and possibilities for different levels of parental and community involvement in childcare spaces.
Our Vision
Everyone who needs access to care and who currently falls through the gaps gets what they need
Every child, family, and care provider has something in place that works for them
Care workers are paid properly and there is support and protection to individual care workers
Center children and families experiencing structural discrimination
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Other locations can use our open-source process to address care in their area
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Holistic care and support that is culturally rooted, appropriate, and relevant
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Our Mission
Our mission is to provide care to everyone who needs it with an accessible platform. We want to ensure care availability at the days, times, and locations that work for families and care providers. We want to see a value exchange—a ‘price’ that’s affordable to families, and allows for fair wages and sustainable operations. We want to build local "care cooperatives" that bring together mutual aid and resources across the entire spectrum of community care needs through pooling resources. Ensuring that care workers are well paid, protected, and adequately resourced while meeting the diverse range of care needs that exist in our communities.
Our Report
There is a serious disconnect between the care that people need to be able to access to thrive, and the care that is available, culturally relevant, safe, and affordable. This disadvantages whole communities where parents and caregivers are undervalued, underpaid, and unable to carry out other work due to caring responsibilities. At the same time, care providers’ work is not unionized, standardized or even legitimized as a profession.
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We invite you to read our 2022 Insights Report and learn more about the state of care in our community, what the challenges are, and how we can work together to make it better.
Our Story
Garrett Blaize is used to pushing back against skepticism about the effectiveness of organizing with and for directly impacted people. “ I think of my grandmother who has fiercely advocated for me, navigating access to healthcare, education, and community life while working hard to provide a happy, safe, and enriching home for us while sacrificing much of herself for our sake. I think about the support that would have made her thankless job easier. I think of all the young people I know who speak about their similar experiences. I think about conversations with young parents who struggle to find programs and resources that meet the care needs of their families.” Disparities in the childcare system are a significant contributor to broader social issues around inequality and injustice. Garret saw an issue in Appalachia around gaps in care and wanted to solve it, and won funding from the the Care Constellation Program and support from IDEO.org to start the process of designing a solution.
Fill in the Survey
Looking for caregivers, families, organizers, and experts to fill in our research survey to inform next steps.
Forward to a Friend
Do you know anyone who is in need of care? Do you know any care providers who are looking for a way to connect the dots? Please forward them this website.
Fund Us
Help us make a cooperative care platform a reality. With funding we can connect folks who need care to folks who offer care.
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