Mutual Aid
Getting involved in local Mutual Aid has been a life changing experience for me. It’s helped me to see the value of community, to look to others with love and to channel my rage into radical care. What is mutual aid? It’s solidarity, not charity. Mutual aid is the rejection of hierarchies of power and the embracing of interdependence.
Is Mutual Aid political? Some mutual aid networks may choose to align with certain political groups, but mutual aid as a concept does not align with one specific political movement. At its core, however, it puts abolition into action. Mutual aid efforts are about connecting people, building networks of care and providing for people without waiting for the government to show up and do something. Instead of waiting to “vote them out” we understand that the non-profits and government agencies who claim to provide for the community continue to profit off of individual suffering. We’re stronger together. We keep us safe. We keep us fed.
What does Mutual Aid look like? It could be a buy-nothing Facebook group, a “pay what you can” fruit stand or free pantry. It could be a community garden, a shared community meal or a neighbor-to-neighbor gift exchange. In Dean Spade’s book, Mutual Aid, he does a great job at emphasizing the importance of keeping capacity in mind when doing mutual aid work. Overextending and the laziness lie are products of grind culture, which ultimately continues to benefit the uber-rich. Rest is resistance and rest is radical. In mutual aid work, there are no saviors. Jump in or out as you can, because any organization that would fall apart if you stepped away was not a sustainable organization to begin with.
How can you get started? Shovel for a neighbor. Listen actively to the experiences of others. Throw a block party or facilitate a neighborhood book club. Seeing the people around us as neighbors is a key aspect of community building. Enter into public spaces, check your books out from the library or join a pick up game at the park. The bonds we build, even when they seem small, create a strong community. Strong communities are safer an more full of joy. As you build the bonds, it becomes more sustainable to move toward longer term, larger scale projects. Check your area for any solidarity or mutual aid networks(try facebook for this), put up a little library or little seed library out front, get together with neighbors and throw a “free garage sale” or organize a bi-weekly pop-up food pantry.
What do you have to offer? There’s a role in mutual aid organizations for everyone. One of the biggest ways I’ve been able to lend my own expertise is by maintaining our MA’s social media accounts. I post on IG and boost messages from our organizing slack. I forward direct messages to the folks who handle food distribution and I help keep track of donations on google sheets. When we get new volunteers, I do my best to make them feel comfortable and help them identify their strengths. I can do all of these things from home, after my kids go to bed. In the summers, I love participating in gardening efforts and regularly help neighbors get their excess food to the nearby community fridge. For every tech-savvy mom, there’s an equally enthusiastic coder who wants to build and maintain a website, a strong bilingual volunteer with 30 minutes a week who’s willing to translate emails or help move food boxes or the neighborhood elder whose wise-cracks keep us giggling through food prep at community dinners. There’s room for everyone in mutual aid.
Get Dean Spade’s book: Mutual Aid (Bookshop.org)
Get Dean Spade’s book: Mutual Aid (Amazon)
