Mutual Aid

## Definition

Mutual aid is when people in a community voluntarily help each other through cooperation and sharing.

For example, in a mutual aid group, Person A may need diapers so Person B gives them diapers. Person C might need food, so Person A gives them food. Each person shares the resources (materials or otherwise) that they have more than enough of, and then asks for help from others when they need it. Often, these groups are anti-capitalist and/or explicitly anarchist.

Mutual aid is the opposite of charity, in which one, more privileged person or group gives resources to a less privileged person or group. Often the phrase "solidarity, not charity" is used. Unfortunately, charity often comes with a lot of strings attached-- people must remain sober, for example, to keep receiving aid, or they must live in a certain county and if they move they lose their aid. Charity also often upholds systems of oppression that keep certain people poor while other people have more privilege. Charity is often done with the goal of inflating the image of the giver, while mutual aid does not attract attention. Often, they prioritize the most marginalized/oppressed people, allowing them to take leadership positions that they might not have under a charity model, or at least to give feedback about how they can be helped most effectively.

There are many benefits to using mutual aid groups rather than other forms of help. Mutual aid groups do not need permission from any other organization to run. They do not involve nonprofit groups or the government. They do not have the same limitations as bureaucracy. Everyone who is involved is a volunteer. In mutual aid groups, decisions are usually made by consensus rather than by hierarchical leadership.

When engaging in mutual aid, people can share:

* Food and water
* Resources
* Money
* Housing
* Childcare
* Pet care
* Rides and transport of people and items
* Medical supplies and assistance
* Hygiene products
* Specialist help, like legal or technical advice
* Company, social needs, and interpersonal support
* Mental health counseling
* Books
* Information
* Translation services
* Housework help
* Disaster relief
* and anything else you could think of!

## History

Mutual aid has existed since the beginning of the human species.

In 1902, Peter Kropotkin published a book titled *Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution.* In it, he writes about mutual aid among animals as well as among societies throughout history.

In 1969, the Black Panthers created a free breakfast program for families in Oakland. By the end of the year, they fed 20,000 children in 19 cities in America. They also distributed clothing, taught classes on politics and economics, operated free medical and dental clinics, tested people in the community for tuberculosis and lead-poisoning, transported family members of inmates to visit them, ran a community daycare, and cleaned up garbage.

In the 1970s, the Young Lords did many of the same programs for Puerto Ricans, Latinos, and other colonized peoples.

Food Not Bombs was founded in 1980 as a protest by anti-nuclear activists. It continues in more than 1,000 cities in 65 countries, giving vegetarian food to people that would otherwise be discarded.

In 2005, the Common Ground Collective led efforts to help people and repair damage after Hurricane Katrina.

In 2013, Occupy Sandy was formed from people in the Occupy Movement.

Mutual aid groups have boomed during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.

## Links

The Big Door Brigade has collected resources for types of mutual aid and specific tactics.

This article from the Indigene Community page talks about mutual aid in the present and the past among North American indigenous peoples.

*Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution* by Peter Kropotkin, full text.

Here is a toolkit for creating a Coronavirus/COVID-19-response mutual aid group.

Podmapping for mutual aid

Neighborhood Pods How-To

Easy video on mutual aid

The Resilience We Want: A Guide to Making Your Community Space into a Hub for Local Resilience and Mutual Aid

Organizational Culture Chart

A Call For Prefigurative Mental Health Support and Communal Care Within Radical Groups and Organizations

Mutual Aid, Trauma, and Resiliency