How mutual aid helped people survive everything from COVID-19 to Hurricane Helene

The world is in crisis and people are suffering under oppressive systems: Cop Cities are born national and police budgets increase while library budgets are cut; barriers to access to health care that all, but especially, Americans face low income And transgenders; mass arrests of peaceful student protests in solidarity with Palestine; unjust immigration enforcement leaves families separated and without essential resources. When we need support, people should turn to each other. On social media, people raise money through colorful images or pool money to pay someone else’s rent. Community members are packing courtrooms to show defendants they are not alone. People with cars organize transportation.

These examples – and generally the act of protecting, caring for, and caring for each other when the government fails to do so – can be categorized as “mutual aid.”

In Asheville, North Carolina, where communities are still reeling from the effects of Hurricane HeleneResidents say mutual aid efforts have been essential to their survival. “It’s really hard to overstate how damaged some parts of our community are,” Asheville climate organizer Alex Lines said Teen fashion in mid-October, with communities underwater, massive power outages, destroyed water infrastructure and more during that time. For residents, it felt like “There wasn’t really a plan in advance… most of the water in the city was turned off because of the damage, and there was no plan for water distribution.” With residents all over the world city ​​was without access to water for weeksand without a timeline from the city when it would be restored or drinkable (while power and water have been largely restored, it was not drinkable, since last week), mutual aid efforts have been critical.

Boston Globe/Getty Images

The Washington Post/Getty Images

“People immediately took action after the storm passed… checking in with their neighbors, sharing stoves and water bottles and whatever they had,” they said. One group in particular, Be Well AVL, created a network of individuals with water wells in the area to effectively distribute water to those in need. Others are distributing personal protective equipment, cleaning up toxic mud or cooking hot food in areas particularly affected by the storms. (Mutual aid is happening everywhere right now.)

“The government’s response is really very slow,” Lines said Teen fashion. Those who engage in mutual aid and help each other with what they have are “able to respond to needs much faster and with less bureaucracy.”

What is mutual aid and where does it come from?

Mutual aid is an integral part of social justice movements, bringing people together to envision a more just world.