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Every Tuesday evening, you’ll find a group of volunteers at Amphi Neighborhood Park.
As the sun sets, the volunteers provide food and resources to anyone who needs it — usually 80-100 people each week.
The group is called ALMA, an acronym for Amphi Liberation Mutual Aid, which started after several Amphi-area community members attended naloxone trainings hosted by fellow mutual-aid group Community On Wheels.
“In the midst of doing these trainings in the downtown area, we had community members from Amphi attend and they were really grateful for the training but they were like, ‘We see a significant amount of folks who are unhoused in Amphi and it would be awesome to have mutual-aid there,’” says Xavier Martinez. “There was a lot of focus on the south side and the downtown area and we just kept getting more and more folks mentioning Amphi.”
Xavier is technically the one who started ALMA, but they like to think of it as a group that’s led by everyone who takes part. Everyone gets to have a say in decision-making.
Xavier moved to Tucson from New York in 2018. Although they were adjusting and still trying to get their life together when they arrived to Tucson, they knew they wanted to take part in mutual-aid when life felt more situated.
“I think (mutual-aid) brings about a big sense of empowerment. Our systems are getting difficult to live in and instead of falling into nihilism or pessimism, we have the ability to come together, share meals, do advocacy work,” Xavier says. “Even though the rest of this world may be a little on fire, we’re still able to work together to envision a future and actually put it into motion. Because even if it’s not a distribution model like ours, (it’s nice to see) other groups thinking about what mutual-aid looks like (to them). What does it look like to provide a pop-up clothing space that’s for everybody? What does it look like to start a group to clean up the river?”
Before Xavier began their work with Community On Wheels, they first worked with Community Care Tucson. They and their son would make food together and bring it to distributions.
“It just felt really good to take part in it — being able to immediately provide these really essential needs to folks while also building community with other folks who are just as compassionate or have similar values about how we envision Tucson in terms of taking care of one another. I just wanted to continue to be part of (mutual-aid) and contribute in any way,” Xavier says. “Especially being from New York, not being from here originally, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just occupying space. I wanted to find ways to give back in a respectful way.”
Maya Tainatongo, who has been to almost all of ALMA’s Tuesday distributions for the last year and works during the day at community organization Flowers & Bullets, echoed similar statements.
“I had been working with Flowers & Bullets for a while and that just kind of showed me what mutual-aid can do in a community and what connecting with community and the land that you’re on does for folks and their healing journeys,” Maya says. “My friend was one of the OG ALMA members. She’s one of my best friends and she kept telling me about ALMA — when my schedule cleared up, I started coming out.”
From 6:30-8 p.m. each Tuesday, a group of of ALMA volunteers provide four main things for those who gather at 510 E. Navajo Rd.: a dinner meal, hygiene products, harm-reduction resources and clothing. Since starting in summer 2024, ALMA has also partnered with community members and organizations to provide services like acupuncture, haircuts, wound care and bike repairs.
To purchase the essentials, ALMA hosts fundraising events and drives at spaces like Homeward Books. Items often come from community donations or partnerships with organizations like Cochise Harm Reduction, which is a mutual-aid group that works to make both healthcare and social services more accessible for the unhoused community in addition to those who use drugs in Cochise County.
There are often misconceptions about harm-reduction resources, which usually includes things like fentanyl test strips, condoms and naloxone, which is designed to reverse opioid overdoses.
“Folks who are using substances by way of needles or glassware, we have a deposit space because we’re trying to reduce what goes out on the street. We provide Narcan (the brand name for naloxone) and naloxone so they can take care of themselves. But that, on top of giving food and clothing, I think there’s a stigma that’s held about ‘Why even help these people when they’re not even helping themselves?’” Xavier says.
“We hear stories all the time about these same individuals who say they’re ready to find a place to sober up or get any kind of help. They check in with so many agencies or try to check back in with their case managers and there’s just no follow-through,” Xavier says, also acknowledging that part of the issue is that some agencies are short-staffed or don’t receive enough funding. “When you’re a person desperate for some sort of support and safety and you’re not getting that and you’re dealing with all these really difficult circumstances — living out on the street and being hungry, being in so much pain — it makes sense that folks will find any way to cope with that pain.”
Everyone deserves access to food, shelter and care. In a perfect world, groups like ALMA, Community Care Tucson and Community On Wheels wouldn’t have to exist.
“If we’re thinking of solutions within the system, it’s pretty obvious that there hasn’t been enough investment for community care,” Xavier says. “In Amphi and Ward 3 specifically, there’s so much vacant space that can be utilized for housing projects — and a wide variety too, it’s not just like we build a five-level apartment building, but kinda like what’s going on with the Sugar Hill housing where their plan is to provide a resource center in that building. I feel like that’s so useful for people and also thinking about group-home settings for folks who aren’t ready to live independently.”
Xavier talks about the concept of a 15-minute city, in which community members have access to a school, healthcare, work and other essential spaces just a walk or bike ride from home. Xavier also applauds Community On Wheels founder Victoria, who created Ruby Independent Advocacy as a direct way to fill the gaps between people and the resources they need.
Of course, mutual-aid work isn’t easy. It’s the community that keeps Xavier going.
ALMA started with 9-10 people and has grown to a group of 45 volunteers who help when they can. Maybe they can’t be present on a Tuesday night, but they might be available to pick up deliveries, organize a donation drive or contribute their own skills to host a service like yoga in the park.
“Some people come in and out because they’re also struggling with their own things, but to see such a wide array of people — my age, younger folk, older folk, folks who are part of the BIPOC community or the queer community — who all want to have some sort of involvement even if there are other circumstances that make it really difficult for them, it’s a beautiful thing,” Xavier says. “It’s been amazing to see how one moment of activating a space has led to so much more community involvement. And to see it also benefit people who really need it too, it’s so good to see the unhoused community and folks who are often marginalized have a space that they can feel safe in — that keeps me going.”
Even though many of the volunteers might have different lived experiences and different perspectives, ALMA brings them together.
“What keeps us in solidarity with one another is the fact that we envision a world of community care on a broader scope,” Xavier says. “I think that creates a sense of safety among all of us.”
❤️ To volunteer with ALMA, reach out! You can make a financial donation here or take a look at the list of needed items here. For more information, visit ALMA’s website or Instagram. ❤️
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