Mutual aid is a practice and philosophy that emphasizes solidarity over charity, recognizing that our well-being, health, and dignity are interconnected. It asserts that our survival relies on cooperation rather than competition, especially in times of crisis when our health depends on that of others. This approach empowers individuals to engage meaningfully within their communities, fostering relationships that provide immediate support and resilience.

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Core Principles of Mutual Aid

 

• Community Collaboration: Bringing people together to provide material support, from food preparation to childcare and emotional assistance.

• Trust and Relationships: Building connections with neighbors based on shared interests and mutual trust.

• Consensus Decision-Making: Making choices collaboratively, without relying on authority or hierarchical structures.

• Resource Sharing: Encouraging the sharing of resources rather than hoarding.

• Value of All Support: Recognizing and valuing diverse forms of support, treating no one as disposable.

• Political Education: Offering opportunities to build relationships and analyze the systemic conditions affecting communities.

• Disaster Preparedness: Preparing for future crises by already knowing vulnerable individuals and available community resources.

• Foundation for Movement Work: Serving as a springboard for broader organizing efforts and social movements.

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What Mutual Aid is Not

 

• Quid Pro Quo Transactions: It's not about reciprocation but about mutual support.

• Crisis-Only Response: Mutual aid is not limited to times of disaster.

• Charity: It's not a way to "save" individuals; it’s about collective uplift.

• Replacement for Safety Nets: It doesn't replace the need for social safety nets or institutional support, but can greatly help when institutional support falls short.

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Overall, mutual aid fosters resilience and cooperation, enabling communities to thrive together.

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How Is Mutual Aid Organized?

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There is a wealth of information available on best practices to building a mutual aid network - so we'll offer a high-level summary here and links to external resources for more in-depth guidance.

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1. Get a friend or two to help - Partner with someone who has the same passion for solutions and trust to follow through.

2. ​Create a "pod" and identify the zone of the pod - The zone of the pod could be your apartment building, your co-workers, your street or town.

3. ​​Decide communication channels - Define digital AND analog methods of communication. Group chat platforms are great, but don't rely solely on the Internet. Have multiple channels of communicating with one another. Think "phone tree" or printed address sheets.

4. ​Invite participants - Keep it small to start (5-20) people. If your zone is your neighborhood, consider knocking on doors and meeting your neighbors, leaving a flyer, hosting a potluck, etc.

5. ​Identify needs - things like food, water, childcare, disabled or elder care, transportation, healthcare, utilities or fuel, material items, handyman and auto repair are just a few examples.  Needs could also be educational or skill-sharing, such as learning how to can food or grow certain vegetables in your area.

6. Engage in "Pod Mapping" - this is an exercise where certain identified needs can be met by specific individuals in your pod. (Check out this resource by Rebel Sidney Black.)

7. ​Start helping each other.

8. ​Expand pod AND/OR connect with other nearby pods - If your pod feels they can accept more pod members, expand it. If not, consider expanding by networking with other established pods. Be sure to submit your mutual aid pod info so individual people and other pods can find you.

9. ​Offer meetups to help teach other people how to successfully create mutual aid pods.

10. Stay in touch with other pods in your network and share ideas and resources.

11. As you discover them, continuously add support resources to the resource database so others may find them as well.

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Additional Resources On Forming Mutual Aid Networks

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The steps outlined above are high level. However, there are many factors to consider and decisions to make when forming a Mutual Aid Pod / Network. Things such as agreed upon mode of operation, how pooling of resources might be managed, conflict management, etc. Below, we've listed resources for learning about what practices lead to success while also becoming aware of known pitfalls to avoid. We encourage you to invest some time into learning as much as you can to ensure success. However, you don't need to figure everything out and formalize from the beginning. Start now, develop and refine as you go.

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• Shareable - Mutual Aid 101: Solidarity, Survival, and Resistance

• American Friends Service Committee - How To Create A Mutual Aid Network

• Dean Spade - Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)

• Dean Spade - Solidarity Not Charity: Mutual Aid for Mobilization and Survival

• Rebel Sidney Black - Pod Mapping for Mutual Aid

• Rebecca Solnit - A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster

• Symbiosis Research Collective - Community, Democracy, and Mutual Aid: Toward Dual Power and Beyond

• Kropotkin – Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution

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A quick search on any search engine for "How to start a mutual aid pod" or "mutual aid network best practices" will yield a plethora of information. ​​​​

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