Big corporations are destroying our health. Many of us recognize this. But we feel like there’s nothing we can do about it. 

Turns out, we’ve got the story all wrong. Because this is NOT an underdog story. This is a TEAMWORK story.

Pittsburgh handed control of its water supply to a private multinational corporation in 2012. The company made decision after decision that prioritized profits over safety and health. A class action lawsuit and public pressure led the city to end its relationship with Veolia, but only for the Mayor to once again try to privatize the city’s water, this time with a different company. Enter Pittsburgh United. This coalition of community, labor, faith, and environmental organizations came together as a powerful team - and they WON.

The reduction in cigarette smoking in the U.S. is one of the biggest public health success stories in our lifetime. How did we get here? I’ll give you a hint: it wasn’t by telling smokers to just quit already. What actually worked? Prevention > After-the-Fact Treatment. Changing the system > Changing the individual. Population-level solutions > single-person solutions.

Here at GASLIT, we’re talking a lot about the need to change systems. But what does that even mean? Here’s a beginner’s guide in 3 videos.

Building community power is key to strengthening community connection and agency (i.e., being able to make and influence decisions!), building buy-in for policies and system changes that support our health and planet, and reducing corporate power. Which all sounds great, but how in the world does one build community power? Here are 3 specific things you can do TODAY.