Our Dream - The Kolvas Collective Community Center, a Reclaimed Resource Project.

Why This Matters

• "I think beauty is a part of survival. We already know that one's environment impacts their psychology."
• "A grimy, dark, unfurnished place to sleep is still filling that first section of Maslow's Hierarchy, but don't we want to aim for more than that?"
• "Unhoused and marginalized populations deserve more than the bare minimum. We don't deserve to only be tolerated, only be fed when we're starving, only have a temporary place to sleep at night and it's not pretty."
• "I believe squatting, not just to do drugs and make a mess but to make something beautiful of an abandoned place, is transformative, necessary, righteous work."
• "Yes my utopian dream is gray-legal. But does that make it immoral? Absolutely not."
• "It's a mall for fuck's sake! There's plenty of space."

What It Looks Like

Physical Space & Layout

• "It looks beautiful. It's just purchased, maybe even a community scale squat."
• "In the middle of the food court is a little hang out spot. There's donated rugs and furniture, games, chess sets, bookshelves."
• "We've taken over some of the old restaurants and are operating our soup kitchen out of there."
• "There's a skylight that we've somehow managed to put colored paper over to make it look like stained glass, perhaps a rainbow flag?"
• "There's sections further down in the mall, quieter, there's benches along the path and donated decoration, and you get to the quiet zone."
• "People sleep here. Because they deserve to have a home. A few people to a store, they have their own space."
• "It would be cool if maybe we could have bikes and scooters to borrow, not just the rentable escooters but I suppose we could have those out front too."
• A single story building would be ideal for accessibility, ease of upkeep and evacuation. However, a bsement could be used for storage and emergency shelter.

Services & Resources

• "There's a nearby store that was converted to a social services office. We help people with applying for benefits, navigating HRT."
• "Maybe there's another section for homework and research help."
• "Maybe we have a nurses station with volunteer medical professionals who come in a few times a week."
• "When they're not here, there's still first aid kits, narcan, menstrual supplies, condoms, emergency contraception, maybe even emergency hrt."
• "There would probably be people whose task is to go around and have radios, narcan and first aid kits with the goal of ensuring community safety. Informal 'cops' if cops actually helped."
• "All bathrooms are trans friendly, of course."
• "There would be a plunger that you could use, also wet wipes, clorox wipes, even diapers of all sizes for all ages. Because it's important."
• "Menstrual products in every bathroom."
• We will have a boutique/clothing store stocked with donated items, and items purchased in bulk from sympathetic suppliers - vouchers would be given to anybody in need of clothing, and those not in need could still purchase items there. This would increase the financial pool of the Community Center, allowing us to fund other resources, such as the social services, food bank, and soup kitchen.

Community Events & Programming

• "I'd love it if we could have community events like learning to sew, movie nights, training on hrt, how to use technology."
• "Getting the senior center involved would be KILLER because seniors are really fucking cool."
• "Even the most pierced up ripped clothes dyed haired anarchopunk you've ever seen loves their grandma and would happily adopt the right senior to be their honorary grandparent."
• "There is so much we can learn from one another. The youth need guidance, seniors need community. The youth need to learn traditional skills, seniors need to learn modern ones."
• "I think it would be nice to have annual dances. Like vintage themed high class balls taking place in a random clearing of the mall. Because why have a squat if it isn't fun?"
• "I would also like to offer childcare, but this is a whole new ballgame, and I may be getting in over my head here. Baby steps."
• "Childcare is a very real barrier to employment, and I think a community member needing employment who has a child should be able to rely on the community to help with that."
• "We'd have a huge bulletin board with community calendars."
• "I think we could have volunteers who provide rides from certain senior complexes."

Governance & Safety

• "The community stewards work in pairs, never alone, of course. Maybe even trios."
• "Community meetings of both internal (live there, work there) and external (visitors, eat there, come for resources but not very tied in) members of the community."
• "I think sliding scale would be a good idea."
• "NOTAFLOF, for sure. Only pay if you're able."
• "I think that you could get a free entry card no matter your income if you volunteer. I think that's fair."
• "We would probably hire staff based on community meetings and need level."
• "Even just a handyman (handyperson?) who is available to be reached for emergencies would be worth the cost."
• "I want to keep things open access, but my community members need to feel safe."
• "Certain hours would be restricted for community members only."

Hiring & People

• "I know a girl who worked at her mom's daycare for YEARS, but she's trans and physically disabled, hard to find a job especially in childcare as a trans woman. We'd hire her on and she'd do great. I know she would."
• "The seniors teaching the classes would help with determining a name - I'm not going to call it Grandma Teaches Sewing if our hostess doesn't want to be referred to that way. But if she does, then we do that."
• "Seniors need to be active members of our community."

The Hard Questions

Legal & Financial

• "Could a squat ever get this big and beautiful without being shut down? An abandoned mall would be so expensive."
• "It would be too expensive to have ID scan locks at the doors."

Utilities & Infrastructure

• "We have solar panels and we bring in jugs of water for the time being, but we're working on more permanent energy and water solutions."
• "Don't get me started on the bathrooms. Those will be rough without plumbing."

Community Safety

• "I would hate to have to confront the idea of people harming one another, the property, or anything awful like that in the community."
• "I want to keep things open access, but my community members need to feel safe."

Labor & Ethics

• "Isn't that serfdom? If they're not paid but are given food and housing...that feels...wrong?"
• "But I guess they would get it either way, they might just get special access and fed first. That feels so wrong for someone who only wants equality. But I know that we're still living under capitalism."

Precedents & Similar Projects

Further Reading...

How You Can Help