Mutual Aid

What is Mutual Aid?

Mutual aid is "cooperation for the sake of the common good." It is the sweeping category of grassroots effort to help others in our community without direct personal benefits. The idea behind mutual aid is that we all need support sometime and we make a stronger community when we all work together giving when we can. Mutual aid is not a proprietary effort or owned by any single party, but is more of a movement returning people to the heart of what makes community. 

Mutual aid networks not only help all that participate, they also contribute to the resilience of marginalized, oppressed, and disaster-struck populations. As Mutual aid networks are not owned by any central entity and are not government programs, they are resilient to changes in political party and less susceptible to misuse for personal gain. Mutual aid is about community.

Mutual aid is largely a word-of-mouth connection bringing back the heart of what makes community, getting to know your neighbors and community members. The spirit behind mutual aid is one where we accept each other as a fellow human being with valid needs. We all have something meaningful to contribute and mutual aid allows for this sharing without any standardized expectation or requirement for participation. 

COVID 19 brought a strong resurgence of mutual aid networks as we came together to care for our neighbors and community without large gatherings or breaking isolation protocol. For many COVID 19 brought their first awareness of mutual aid. These practices and networks are still going and growing with our communities.