![]() ![]() The group has grown to have more than a dozen volunteers and cleans the laundry for 50 to 60 people on a weekly basis. Now they operate as a mutual aid group that offers laundry services to the unhoused and housing insecure under the name PHL Laundry Support. Jiacopello, along with her co-founder Bella Main and other volunteers, decided to expand the scope of their services throughout the city. “I think it’s kind of a basic need that we all take for granted having access to.” - Elizabeth Jiacopello, PHL Laundry Support organizer The city ultimately negotiated with encampment residents to provide them housing in a myriad of ways after attempting to evict them three times. ![]() The person-to-person laundry process proved to be difficult, and according to Jiacopello, “a lot of laundry got lost in the process.” Eventually the group set up a table and tent upon request from an encampment resident. “We pretty much started around the first eviction notice that the JTD encampment got,” explains Elizabeth Jiacopello, an activist and mutual aid organizer.Ĭamp JTD, along with Camp Teddy in North Philadelphia, grew out of necessity in the wake of the George Floyd protests in June 2020, and continued through October 2020.Īccording to Jiacopello, a disorganized group of volunteers started to “walk up to random people, ask if they needed some laundry done and take it home.” Bella Main (left) and Elizabeth Jiacopello organize mutual aid group PHL Laundry Support. It began as a tent and table atop muddy grounds at Von Colln Memorial Field on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, with unhoused residents of Camp James Talib-Dean (JTD) dropping off dirty clothes and picking them up freshly laundered to take back to their tents. A mutual aid group has stepped in to provide for this need, which is not addressed through most charities or organizations. When you don’t have a home, you likely don’t have access to a laundry room, or a basket and quarters to go to the laundromat. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |