When he needed help, he used his service credits instead of depleting his savings. Earning credits can spur new social coalitions, such as neighborhood crime watch systems. They begin looking after each other and checking in, building alliances. They range from small-town Ohio to New York City. The real wealth of society is not money.
Money is a substitute for trust.
I made it up as I went along, so you can too. Now I publish an annual six-page list of things people want to exchange. I took half an hour one Saturday and distributed flyers explaining the Neighborhood Exchange. No one responded to the flyer, but it paid off because it made talking to people later much easier. It was good to get a list of items right away, and to start where it was less scary for me.