I like to think of community as a plant that needs love and care to thrive, especially right now. Natural disasters and health crises can exacerbate human rights abuses, and create an excuse for governments to further marginalize our most vulnerable communities. It’s hard not to feel defeated, but there are many ways we can fight for our rights and practice social justice while social distancing. Below are 10 ideas for how to keep our roots strong, nurture communities, and bolster human rights in the wake of this global pandemic.

1. Practice social solidarity

Social solidarity means thinking about our community, not just ourselves and personal security. It means staying at home, if you have the privilege to do so, to flatten the curve. It means not hoarding masks, sanitizers, and groceries. The food-supply chain in America is strong, so we can and should buy groceries at a normal pace. Check in on the neighbors, even those with whom you might usually avoid eye contact; if you’re willing and able, send an email to the building or leave a note in the lobby with how to reach you if someone needs help. Offer to pick up groceries or make a pharmacy run and leave the items on your elderly or immunosuppressed neighbor’s doorstep. Just offering to help goes a long way at a time when people are feeling isolated and fearful.

2. Get involved with mutual aid networks

You’ve probably seen this term popping up around the internet over the past few weeks. So what is mutual aid? It refers to people banding together to meet immediate survival needs because of a shared understanding that the government systems in place are not enough to help us. Mutual aid isn’t the same as charity or wealthy people donating money; instead of waiting for elites to solve problems or pass laws and policies, mutual aid networks take power into our own hands. These networks usually coalesce around sudden disasters like earthquakes, and they have a deep, rich history in America — most notably the Black Panther Party’s free breakfast program for schoolchildren, which was started in 1969 and lasted through the early 1970s, eventually leading to the creation of the country’s School Breakfast Program. Big Door Brigade is a great resource to learn more about what mutual aid is and how to find local mutual aid projects in your area.

3. Protect immigrant rights

The Trump administration has essentially dismantled the asylum system at the Mexican border during this crisis. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol are still arresting and detaining immigrants, deporting family members, and incarcerating adults and children in detention centers, despite advocates, lawmakers, immigration attorneys, and judges calling on the agency to stop enforcements and halt proceedings. Here’s what you can do:

Share important “know your rights” info with your community about what to do if ICE shows up at your door.

Document ICE presence or enforcements in your neighborhood safely, ethically, and effectively using this tip sheet from WITNESS, a human rights nonprofit organization.

Join RAICES in telling ICE to release all immigrants at risk of coronavirus.

Volunteer remotely as an attorney, law student, or bilingual translator for Al Otro Lado, and help protect asylum seekers at the border.

Donate through ActBlue Charities to support emergency humanitarian medical relief at the U.S.-Mexico border.

4. Don’t forget about people who are incarcerated

If we really want to flatten the curve, we also need to remember our community members who are incarcerated. About 2.3 million people are locked up in America on any given day, creating the highest prison and jail population per capita of any country in the world, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. Additionally, reports have found many instances of jails and prisons doing a horrible job of providing health care to incarcerated people. Advocates across the country are calling on police departments to reduce arrests, and for prisons to release our elders, those with health conditions that could exacerbate COVID-19 symptoms, and those in pretrial detention (meaning they have not been convicted of anything yet, but couldn’t afford the cash bail). Here’s what you can do: