What is Mutual Aid?
Mutual aid is a practice that is built on the foundation of solidarity-based support within a community. The foundations of mutual aid are built upon collaboration, transparency, volunteerism, and the goal to serve the needs of the community at large. Mutual aid often entails distributing physical resources (e.g., clothing, food, housing, medical care), but can also come in the form of participating in disaster relief efforts, protests, childcare, skill sharing, and more.
- For All the People : Uncovering the Hidden History of Cooperation, Cooperative Movements, and Communalism in AmericaOpen Access eBook available on the Internet Archive
Mutual Aid Resources
Graphic by N.O. Bonzo (@nobonzo). Accessed September 13, 2024.
- Mutual Aid NYCMutual Aid NYC is a network of groups organizing to provide aid & support to New Yorkers during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The Mutual Aid NYC directory for resources on education, housing, money, food and legal assistance can be found here.
- Mutual Aid ToolkitThis toolkit includes step by step instructions to build your own mutual aid network while staying safe from the spread of COVID-19.
- Pratt SGA's Alternatives to PoliceThis is a list of resources and hotlines provided by the Pratt Student Government Association to consider as alternatives for calling the police.
- New York Psychotherapy and Counseling CenterNYPCC is a non-profit, community-oriented mental health organization, licensed by the New York State Office of Mental Health.
Getting Involved in Local Politics
- Ranked choice votingSince 2019, NYC has implemented a ranked choice voting system in primary and special elections for city offices. Learn about what that means here.
- Recent legislation changesStay up to date on the current NYC legislation.
Pratt Community Opportunities
Resources from the catalog
Books
Articles and Zines
- Shape/Shift: Imagining a Discipline of Care through Mutual Aid.PDF Full Text available