Mutual aid
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Mutual aid is when people work together to help each other with things they need. This could include:
- sharing food, clothes or medicine
- running breakfast programs
- providing education
- helping during emergencies like natural disasters or health crises
About mutual aid
Mutual aid is different from charity because:
- there are no conditions on who can get help
- everyone involved makes decisions together
- people take responsibility for supporting each other
- the aim is both to help people and to change the situations that created problems
How mutual aid works
Working together
In mutual aid groups:
- everyone can take part
- there are no bosses or leaders
- all members have equal power to make decisions
- decisions are made by reaching agreement as a group
Types of support
Groups work together to:
- identify what people need
- find ways to meet those needs
- share resources and skills
- tackle the root causes of problems
History of mutual aid
The idea of mutual aid became well known through Peter Kropotkin's book 'Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution' in 1902.
Kropotkin showed that working together, not competing, helped humans and animals survive. This challenged ideas that competition was most important for evolution.
Examples of mutual aid
Historical examples
From the 1800s to early 1900s, mutual aid included:
- trade unions
- friendly societies that helped members with healthcare and funeral costs
- craft guilds
- working men's clubs that provided health insurance
Recent examples
More recently, mutual aid has been important in:
During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, mutual aid groups:
- delivered food and medicine
- helped people who were isolating
- provided support at neighbourhood and street level
- created connections between people during lockdown
Challenges for mutual aid groups
Groups may struggle with:
- finding people with technical skills
- getting funding
- being taken seriously by official organisations
- avoiding power imbalances between members