what is mutual aid?
mutual aid is a form of voluntary, reciprocal exchange of resources and support among people, organized on the principle of solidarity rather than top-down charity.
mutual aid is peer support with the politics made explicit: people meeting each other's needs directly, on the understanding that everyone both gives and receives. it is one of the oldest forms of human organization, and its emotional cousin is the support community.
solidarity, not charity
charity flows one way, from those who have to those who lack, and it preserves the hierarchy. mutual aid flows both ways: today you hold me up, tomorrow i hold you. that reciprocity is not incidental — it is what makes it sustainable and non-humiliating to participate in.
the emotional version
a peer-support community is emotional mutual aid. you show up for others and, when it is your turn to fall apart, they show up for you. the person who is always the strong one for everyone else finally gets to be the one who is held — which is often the whole point.
somewhere to put it
free. anonymous. people who’ve been where you are 🤍
get Resolv Social — it’s freewant the deeper story? read prescribed to fail
questions
what is the difference between mutual aid and charity?
charity is one-directional help that preserves a giver/receiver hierarchy. mutual aid is reciprocal — everyone both gives and receives — and is organized around solidarity.
how does mutual aid relate to peer support?
peer support is a form of emotional mutual aid: people with shared experience holding each other up on a reciprocal basis rather than a clinical one.
keep reading
more from the glossary
resolv social is not a clinical product and does not diagnose, treat, or cure any condition. if you’re in crisis, call or text 988 (u.s.), 24/7, free.