The movement for mutual aid during disasters isn’t something we invented. But we are trying to act as a swiss-army knife for this growing movement of movements, as it becomes more and more critical for our collective survival. One way we are supporting and uplifting this tactic, and the larger autonomous disaster relief movement, of which we are only a small part, is curating a database of news articles about autonomous, liberatory, mutual aid efforts in the context of disasters.
-
In These TimesMutual aid builds the collective people power we need to take on the state.
-
Block Club ChicagoVolunteers are needed to deliver food, answer the South Shore Blizzard Dig-Out hotline and to coordinate snow shoveling.
-
KRCRTVFour truckloads of donations from the Redding community were collected from last week's Women’s March partnership with the Shasta County Mutual Aid group.
-
BklynerThe East Brooklyn Mutual Aid (EMBA) is hosting a fundraiser to keep their volunteer group organizing food distribution in Brownsville, Ocean Hills, East New York, and Cypress Hills for another month.
-
The LafayetteLafayette Mutual Aid (LMA) is a student-led movement with two aims: to provide direct assistance to Black and Indigenous students and Lehigh Valley residents, and to shift the ideology of giving toward the direct and immediate assistance of fellow community members.
-
South Seattle EmeraldIn March of last year, shortly after the city shuttered the first time due to COVID-19, Seattle’s Maria Lamarca Anderson wanted take-out. She called up a BIPOC-owned Filipino restaurant she’d been meaning to try, Beacon Hill’s Musang Seattle.
-
San Antonio ReportWhile much of San Antonio was frozen amid the harsh cold snap, small groups of volunteers have moved about the city, delivering supplies and offering warm places to stay to those without the necessities: food, water, shelter, and heat to stave off the biting winter freeze.
-
UC Santa CruzPrison abolitionist Mariame Kaba urged like-minded social activists to embrace the spirit of generosity, collective power, and mutual aid during the all-virtual 37th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Convocation.
-
The Red and BlackA plate of food for a good cause — it’s an attractive model for creators and customers that pop-up projects like The Side Hustle are taking advantage of.
-
Spectrum Local NewsThe pandemic has been challenging Miriam Soto. “You have to stay home,” she said during an interview on Broadway in Newburgh. “It’s very depressing.”
-
D MagazineAll of the energy spent organizing in 2020 has allowed many local mutual aid groups keep people warm, housed, and fed during this weather emergency.
-
Dallas EaterAs governments fail Dallas’s unhoused population, a collective of organizers across the city worked around the clock to feed the residents of Camp Rhonda, an encampment for unhoused people that’s been under threat of shutdown
-
Houston EaterThese mutual aid funds, nonprofits, and community groups are getting hot meals and other supplies to people on the ground right now
-
Dallas EaterSending limits on mobile payment platforms like Venmo and CashApp have made it difficult to distribute the hundreds of thousands of dollars raised for Dallasites in need this week
-
Marie ClaireIt’s about solidarity, not charity, and a lot of people you know are doing it.
-
Maine BeaconOnce a week, the storeroom behind Gateway Community Services on Forest Avenue in Portland is transformed and the empty space becomes a cornucopia. By mid-morning, 50-pound bags of black beans, lentils, and rice are stacked high on pallets, alongside countless boxes of bananas, limes, fresh herbs, and vegetables. Volunteer “rationers” stand at tables spaced 10 feet apart, portioning the bulk foods into family-sized shares.
-
Austin EaterWhere to donate money, food, and supplies to help the vulnerable in the city
-
VoxPeople have applauded local organizing efforts in cities like Austin, Dallas, and Houston, in the face of a lacking government response.
-
NBC NewsBlack, Latino, Asian Americans are raising money and helping to escort senior citizens who might not feel safe.
-
The CutOver the weekend, a massive winter storm descended upon the state of Texas, bringing harsh, unprecedented weather to the region: snow, ice, single-digit temperatures. The inclement conditions were punishing enough — most houses in Texas feature little insulation, which prompted many to crank up the heat in their living spaces.
-
Rolling StoneA list of organizations providing food, housing, and other disaster relief to people across the state