An Instagram post showing a neon green negative of the zoomed-in side of a KN95 face mask on a black background. Slightly off center is light beige, all caps scripted gothic font that reads ‘FREE’ [end text]. Underneath of this is a ‘KN95’ printed label in all caps bold neon green, and below this is the word ‘MASKS’ in the previous all caps light beige font. In the bottom left corner is marigold yellow all caps scripted gothic font that reads, ‘NYC & LA’ [end text]. In the bottom right corner is the SiQ logo, with the capital letters S and Q in light beige, and the blood drop lowercase letter i in dark red. To the right of the picture, the text of the post says: “SiQ recently received a donation of KN95s from BonaFide Masks to redistribute within our communities. With Covid and other pathogens circulating rampantly, it's crucial to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep each other safe, especially when our governments repeatedly fail us with nonexistent mitigations or precautions in place. We must protect the millions of disabled and newly disabled populations. This affects marginalized communities of color, particularly Black and Indigenous communities, at a disproportionate level, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that everyone has access to safety and protection. It is a human right.”
by

SIQ’s Mask Distribution Initiative

Since the beginning of February 2023, a grassroot collective of disabled artists, activists, and advocates for justice “Sick in Quarters” (SiQ) have launched a community mask redistribution initiative. Anyone interested could sign up if they can hold a quantity of masks to give freely in their area (alt link).

By the beginning of April 2023, SIQ have compiled a public access database with all the private people and organisation participating in mask sharing initiative. The network span as far as NYC, Pittsburg, Baltimore, Austin, Chicago, Oregon, Vancouver and Ontario, among other cities in North America (alt link).

The collective stated that “it’s crucial to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep each other safe, especially when our governments repeatedly fail us with nonexistent mitigations or precautions in place.” The action resists the U.S. government’s decision to end the National COVID Emergency on May 11 “actively slashing what limited protections and precautions we had left as we move into year 4 of the Covid pandemic.”

—Sasha Kurlenkova

Backup Media:

Screenshot of the first slide of a Sick In Quarters (@sickinquarters) Instagram post from February 5th 2023. The graphic is a close-up shot of the side of a medical face mask, colorized bright green with black elastic and a black background. in the center, stylized font reads "Free KN95 Masks". Below on the left in yellow font is NYC & LA next to the SIQ logo in the lower right. The caption is partially truncated but is reproduced in full below.
Screenshot of the second slide of a Sick In Quarters (@sickinquarters) Instagram post from February 5th 2023. The graphic consists of a parchment-colored background with a stylized script that reads "SQ received a donation of kn95 masks from Bonafide Masks to redistribute in our communities. With Covid and other pathogens circulating rampantly, it's crucial to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep each other safe, especially when our governments repeatedly fail us with nonexistent mitigations or precautions in place. We must protect the millions of disabled and newly disabled populations. [red dot] This affects marginalized communities of color, particularly Black and Indigenous communities, at a disproportionate level, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that everyone has access to safety and protection. It is a human right." The outer border of the graphic is black with "free kn95 masks" in red text repeated around the border. The caption is partially truncated in the screenshot but is reproduced in full below.
Screenshot of the third slide of a Sick In Quarters (@sickinquarters) Instagram post from February 5th 2023. On a green background, the following text is printed in green, yellow, and black: NYC. free kn95 masks will be available through Bowery Mission locations & days/times available at bitly/ BoweryMission. The Living Gallery: 1094 Broadway, Brooklyn, NYC 11221 Mondays at 12pm. Playground Coffee Shop & Annex, 1114 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11216, annex is open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5pm. The caption is partially truncated in the screenshot but is reproduced in full below.
Screenshot of the fourth slide of a Sick In Quarters (@sickinquarters) Instagram post from February 5th 2023. The following text is printed on a grey background: Los Angeles. Free kn95 masks will be available through The People of South Gate Saturdays & every other tuesday. @ Cruzita's Deli & Cafe 7121 State St, Suntington Park, CA 90255. Sunrise Arcadia one Sunday a month @ Arcadia County Park : 405 S Santa Anita Ave Arcadia, CA 91006. contact these mutual aid orgs for additional distro locations, days & times available. The caption is partially truncated in the screenshot but is reproduced in full below.

Format: Instagram Post
Creator: Sick in Quarters
Handle: @sickinquarters
Link to Post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CoThdXVtJcx/
Creation Date: 05 Feb 2023
Stats: 361Likes
Captured: 4-Aug-2024

Post Content:

SiQ recently received a donation of KN95s from BonaFide Masks to redistribute within our communities. With Covid and other pathogens circulating rampantly, it’s crucial to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep each other safe, especially when our governments repeatedly fail us with nonexistent mitigations or precautions in place. We must protect the millions of disabled and newly disabled populations.

This affects marginalized communities of color, particularly Black and Indigenous communities, at a disproportionate level, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that everyone has access to safety and protection. It is a human right.

We redistributed our donation of KN95 masks to physical locations with existing mutual aid distribution efforts in both NYC and LA, including: The Bowery Mission, The Living Gallery, Playground Coffee Shop & Annex, The People of Southgate, and Sunrise Arcadia.

SiQ does not currently have more masks to redistribute elsewhere, but we are working to build a network with other community-centered groups doing mask distribution. Please view our previous post for more details. 😷❤️‍🩹 [face with medical mask emoji, bandaged heart emoji]

Screenshot of the first slide of a Sick In Quarters (@sickinquarters) Instagram post from April 13th 2023. Over a stylized background is the heading "Mask Distribution Update." Below in a dark red bubble, is the text "SiQ has compiled all of the mask distribution network submissions we have received so far into a public access database to share in an effort to make free masks easier to locate." Below is printed "*Link In Bio*". The caption is partially truncated in the screenshot but is reproduced in full below.
Screenshot of the second slide of a Sick In Quarters (@sickinquarters) Instagram post from April 13th 2023. Three blocks of text on red and white background. The first reads: "The U.S. government is actively slashing what limited protections and precautions we had left as we move into year 4 of the Covid pandemic." The second: "On April 10, 2023, Biden signed to end the National Emergency effective immediately, and the Public Health Emergency (PHE) is set to end in under a month on May 11. Continued efforts are being made across the U.S. to remove masks from healthcare and workplace settings, to further limit testing and vaccination access, and to criminalize wearing a mask in public spaces." The third: "Everyone is at high risk during a mass disabling and deadly pandemic event. We have to form community care networks and share resources to keep each other safe, with emphasis on uplifting and protecting communities disproportionately impacted by Covid and its long-term effects." A border around the outer edge of the graphic is made up of a repeat of the words "wear a mask * give a mask *" in orange font. The caption is partially truncated in the screenshot but is reproduced in full below.
Screenshot of the third slide of a Sick In Quarters (@sickinquarters) Instagram post from April 13th 2023. The SIQ logo is in the center top of the graphic, above a red bubble with the words "We're still accepting submissions from groups and individuals organizing free mask distribution efforts! All responses will become a part of our public access database" printed across it. The background is a textured, painterly combination of flame red and salmon pink. Below, "LINK TO SUBMIT: bit.ly/siq23masks" appears inside a pale box. The caption is partially truncated in the screenshot but is reproduced in full below.

Format: Instagram Post
Creator: Sick in Quarters
Handle: @sickinquarters
Link to Post: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq_zaA8tp7B/
Creation Date: 13 April 2023
Stats: 304 Likes
Captured: 4-Aug-2024

Post Content:

MASK DISTRIBUTION NETWORK UPDATE :

SiQ has compiled all of the mask distribution network submissions we have received so far into a public access database to share in an effort to make free masks easier to locate. The link to this database is in our bio!

This effort is in direct response to the U.S. government actively slashing what limited protections and precautions we had left as we move into year 4 of the Covid pandemic.

On April 10, 2023, Biden signed to end the National Emergency effective immediately, and the Public Health Emergency (PHE) is set to end in under a month on May 11. Continued efforts are being made across the U.S. to remove masks from healthcare and workplace settings, to further limit testing and vaccination access, and to criminalize wearing a mask in public spaces.

Everyone is at high risk during a mass disabling and deadly pandemic event. We have to form community care networks and share resources to keep each other safe, with emphasis on uplifting and protecting communities disproportionately impacted by Covid and its long-term effects.

We’re still accepting submissions from groups and individuals organizing free mask distribution efforts. All responses will become a part of our public access database. The link to submit to this database is also in our bio.

If you have any questions about this project, please email dove@sickinquarters.com 💚 [green heart]