Knowing our neighbors. It may sound simple, but it is an essential ingredient to a functioning democracy—and more important now than ever.

In the face of the dismantling of government and public service, communities devastated by ongoing climate catastrophes, and individuals targeted by state repression, we must return to the simple but powerful act of getting to know the people we live near. Whether it’s lending or borrowing a cup of sugar, or providing others bare necessities when the power goes out on your block for two weeks, it is essential that we break our prolonged isolation and build relationships across differences.

For us at Southerners on New Ground (SONG)—a regional organization building a grassroots base of LGBTQ+ Southerners—we see this as a crucial first step towards creating community defense and disaster response networks across the South. These networks are lifelines that enable us to defend queer and trans kin, fight back against the targeting of Black and immigrant communities and address the material impact of climate crises.

Last year, when back-to-back hurricanes devastated our communities from Florida to Kentucky, SONG mobilized quickly to meet urgent needs. Our teams delivered carloads of essential supplies to impacted areas in North Carolina and Georgia, provided over 100 composting toilets to Western North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and made 839 wellness calls to check on our members’ safety and well being.