our history
ECC was founded in the autumn of 2024 out of a belief that abolition is inherently creative work. As an abolitionist social worker, I know we cannot only work to dismantle oppressive systems; we must also imagine and build new ways of being together.
The COVID-19 pandemic further illuminated just how isolated, disconnected, and exhausted so many of us had become. Workers, artists, caregivers - all of us - lost not only shared spaces, but many of the informal relationships and collective rituals that help sustain us. As remote work and digital life intensified, so did loneliness, burnout, and disembodiment.
I found myself longing for spaces where people could gather more intentionally—not just to produce, but to connect, create, rest, and exist alongside one another. At the same time, my experience in traditional social work settings taught me that many existing systems do not care for workers in sustainable or humane ways. After one particularly challenging role, where I experienced the moral injury of being asked to act outside both my personal ethics and the core values of social work, I knew something had to change.
My body, mind, and spirit were exhausted. I continued trying different positions, hoping to find alignment, but kept encountering the same contradiction: social workers are tasked with "enhancing human well-being and helping meet the basic needs of all people," yet workers themselves are often excluded from that care. This dynamic is not only unsustainable, but can also reinforce saviorism—especially white saviorism—by encouraging us to "help others" without examining our own relationships to burnout, power, extraction, and disconnection.
I no longer wanted to participate in a profession that asked people to sacrifice themselves in the name of care.
ECC emerged as an experiment in practicing social work differently. Here, I apply the core values of social work—service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, the importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence—through a practice centered on collective care, creativity, embodiment, and community.
ECC is not a solution to capitalism, racism, isolation, or systemic harm. But it is a space for experimentation: a kind of test kitchen for people trying to live, work, create, and connect differently. A place to practice more sustainable, relational, and liberatory ways of being together.
Written by Liz Kovarsky. You can reach out to Liz for any reason at: Liz@ElectricCottageCollective.com