Mutual aid

Cooperative help exchanged among people who share needs or responsibility.

Reach for it when describing reciprocal community support rather than one-directional charity or a purchased service

Mutual aid kept medication and warm meals moving during the snow closure.

• everyday

  cooperation

  people coordinate effort toward a shared result

  not when Cooperation may serve a project without addressing anyone's material need.

• warm

  neighborly assistance

  informal local care is the visible form

  not when Neighborly assistance may be one-way and limited to personal favors.

• warm

  solidarity

  shared commitment leads people to stand together

  not when Solidarity is a relationship or stance and may not produce practical aid.

• professional

  community support

  local networks provide practical or emotional assistance

  not when Community support can be delivered by an institution without mutual governance.

• professional

  reciprocity

  relationships are sustained through giving and receiving

  not when Reciprocity is a principle and does not specify concrete aid.

• formal

  collective self-help

  a group pools capacity to meet members' needs

  not when Self-help language can obscure unequal resources and necessary public responsibility.

• formal

  reciprocal help

  plain precision emphasizes help moving in more than one direction

  not when Reciprocity can unfold over time and should not become a demand for immediate repayment.

• exploitation
• abandonment
• one-way dependency
• neglect

• mutual aid network

  The mutual aid network matches spare equipment with households that request it.

• practice mutual aid

  Residents practice mutual aid by sharing transport, tools, and emergency childcare.

• mutual aid fund

  A mutual aid fund covers urgent needs through rules set by its members.