Paper short abstract:

This paper examines a challenge faced by grassroots groups in balancing the need for urgent individual support (such as resisting eviction) with the goal of building a mass movement for systemic change. Collective care practices are employed as a means to overcome guilt and to offer new ways of engagement.

Paper long abstract:

This paper discusses a dilemma faced by a grassroots group in Lisbon. The goal is to build a mass movement to bring systemic change to the housing market, but the everyday life of activism involves accompanying individual cases. This ties up a lot of the activist's

time and emotional resources, and sometimes leads to frustration when people do not return after resolving their cases. Within the movement, there is a debate about whether limited resources should be used to build alliances with other organized groups, as

the legitimacy of the activist work may be lost if they stop working with those affected. Collective practices are being rethought by experienced activists to build insurgent subjectivities and to politicize those who are "affected" in the process of engagement.

This paper aims to provide insights into the moralities involved in balancing individual support in the acute housing crisis with strategic support for mass mobilization. The use of collective care practices seeks to counteract the hierarchy that exists between

experienced political activists and those who are affected, and to counteract the danger of social work, which is counter to the emancipatory ideal.