What I’m about to talk about is something I’ve struggled with more than once over the last few years, and I know I’m not alone…

There’s a silent paralysis that sets in when you want to help, deeply, but don’t know how. When communities you care about (sometimes your own) are facing real threats from government enforcement, the instinct to act is strong, but it quickly collides with fear and uncertainty. You start asking yourself if you’ll make things worse, you question if you understand the legal risks, if stepping in could put someone in danger, or if the truth is that you simply don’t know enough to be useful.

That confusion is real, and it’s powerful. I see it everywhere. It shows up on our timelines, in group chats, in the stories shared by friends and family. You can feel the anxiety thickening in neighborhoods where people are suddenly afraid to take their kids to school, go to work, or even answer their own front doors. And in those moments, the thought keeps surfacing:

I should do something.

But then the doubts take over. I’m not a lawyer. I have organized but I’m not an organizer. I don’t know what’s legal anymore, and I don’t want to cause harm by getting it wrong. so we stay silent, not because we don’t care, but because we care so much we’re afraid of doing the wrong thing.

What other creators have had to remind me of is this: showing up doesn’t require having all the answers. It requires starting somewhere.

That uncertainty we’re feeling isn’t accidental… this is by design. When people don’t know what they can do, they often end up doing nothing. When communities are unclear about their rights, they become easier to intimidate. And when potential allies hesitate out of fear of “doing it wrong,” the people who need support are left to face everything alone.

The truth is, there are ways to show up that don’t require expertise or fearlessness. You don’t need a law degree to share accurate information. You don’t need to have it all figured out to walk alongside someone who’s scared. Sometimes showing up looks like listening, witnessing, and being present when the weight of everything feels overwhelming.

Trust the people doing the work matters. T

here are organizations on the ground creating clear, thoughtful resources so the rest of us don’t have to guess. Our role isn’t to reinvent the wheel—it’s to help that information travel.

As a creator-led business, I work alongside people with influence and reach, and I understand how powerful that reach can be when it’s used with intention. Putting the right tools in your hands doesn’t just spread awareness…it helps keep people in your circle safer.

The toolkits I’m about to share exist because the path forward is confusing af.

They were designed to cut through the confusion and offer practical steps, whether you’re directly at risk, supporting someone you love, or simply refusing to let your community face this alone.

Showing up starts with getting informed. From there, it becomes a choice. You can let fear and uncertainty keep you frozen, or you can let them push you to learn just enough to be genuinely helpful.

The first step is simple.

Share these toolkits—publicly or privately, on your platform or in your messages. Read them and understand them for your own safety. You don’t have to do everything. You just have to do something.