Upstate Covid Conscious Friends

(Formerly Albany Covid Conscious Meetup Group, we are now UCCF as we have become a community full of shared experiences and mutual support.)

This is a group for COVID Conscious people, largely but not exclusively in upstate New York. Activities are often Zoom based, but we also organize in person meetups, mostly in the greater capital region.

"COVID Conscious" (or COVID Competent/Aware/Safer) means that you are aware that COVID-19 is still a major health crisis. You take personal safety measures such as wearing a mask in public, social distancing, vaccinating as health allows, and limiting exposure to those who do not take precautions, in order to lower the risk of contracting and spreading COVID.

GROUP RULES:

* Treat group members with kindness and consideration, online and in person. No bigotry, health supremacy, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, classism, racism, ableism, sexism, ageism, religious discrimination, bullying, harassment, cyberstalking, etc. Respect other members' boundaries. Do not DM them confrontationally, nor to spread harmful rumors.

* Be honest about the mitigations and precautions that you take.

* Masks (KN95, KF94, N95, or better) are required at all in person meetups. Do not attend if you feel ill or have been having symptoms of illness within the last 12 days.

* Do not police or command group members. Our unifying qualities are our COVID awareness, our respect for human lives and wellbeing, and our community. Respect differences of circumstances and practices. Feel free to set a good example for others, but don't pressure or shame any individuals. We are all growing in our own ways, at our own rates.

GROUP GUIDELINES:

These best practices are considerate actions to take, as you can. These are guidelines: No one will jump down your throat for forgetting. We understand that your spoons or your capacity to keep these in mind may be limited, and they get easier with practice.

* Please respect the tone of a conversation in progress when you enter. We will eventually circle around to heavy topics, entertainment, activism, trauma, hobbies, safety, and everything else. A sudden shift can be jarring.

* Share the floor. Ask questions, invite others to engage, and give attention to text contributions in the chat sidebar during video calls.

* If someone shares their troubles, respond first with empathy, not problem solving. You may ask them to specify whether they seek empathy, quiet listening, distraction, and/or solutions.

* While use of aggressive slurs is understood to be harmful, also be mindful of normalized words that disparage marginalized people, even when you don't intend harm. e.g. St*pid, b*tch, g*psy, cr*zy. (Words that disparage harmful behaviors/choices are okay. e.g., MAGAt.) Reclaimed slurs that describe your own identity are up to your own discretion, as long as you aren't harming others present. But try not to disparage yourself. e.g., nobody is lazy (you have obstacles).

* Give content warnings for topics that may cause distress, to allow people to opt in or to prepare themselves. You could say, "Content warning: Bodily function," and wait a few seconds for anyone to object or mute. In addition to the topics that are generally considered sensitive (such as SI, SA, hard drugs, sex, abuse), in this group, please include content warnings for the following: (cw: emetophobia) vomit, god/Christianity (when centered; casual mention is fine), medically graphic images, and scatological discussion.

Links:

Joe's Covid resources: Masks, compilations, and more.

Treatments and preventions for Covid and long Covid: These are not all well known, but some are quite accessible!