I mean like this: “Realized that most of these programs are not meant to help anyone, merely to control people and make them dependent. I was forced to reconsider everything I’d once believed. I developed a profound distrust of government regardless of the philosophy of the people in power. I remained a liberal on civil-rights issues, became a conservative on defense, and a semi-libertarian on all other matters.” - Dean Koontz. Am I wrong?
I’m not yet where I want to be with it. I just have developed a habit of saying “yes” to opportunities to engage in good praxis. Some things I’ve done include keeping the letterkenny line “if if someone needs help you help them” in mind. But I have a huge advantage here that I’m polyamorous and so that’s come with a built in network. Getting to know the people in your life and becoming someone people know is dependable and happy to trade favors without keeping score is something that may work.
That said, my wife has done a lot of anarchist activism and you may find benefits in looking into groups like those providing books to prisoners, prison abolition groups, and food not bombs. You probably have some form of anarchic activism going on in the city nearest to you. But keep in mind that boundaries are important. More always needs done, do what you can and don’t feel guilty when you can’t do more.
And as for unionization, unfortunately I left that union. It was very good for me and heavily impacted my politics despite being a major liberal union because I saw how much better work was in it. But I’m an engineer and in order to advance my career I had to leave jobs that included established unions. I know if you ask your local IWW to teach a class on establishing a union they likely will gladly help even if you’re looking to join something more liberal like the teamsters or UAW.