I'm writing this in November 2024, after Trump was elected president. Me, along with a lot of other people in this country are anxious, scared, and feeling like we're staring our own mortality in the face. And there's good reason for it. If you've read project Project 2025 it's hard not to feel hopeless. However, you shouldn't let nihilism take over. There's still things that can be done to resist and help support your community even under the worst circumstances.

I refuse to let us be depressed and hopeless. People survive. History is not permanant, even if it feels like eternity, and I refuse to sit by without fighting back. I dont want my only two options to be running away or rolling over and hiding.

One note before anyone decides to take this website's advice and start organizing for themselves: LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS! Your goal as an anarchist (especially starting out) is not for everyone to know you. Your goal is to prepare and get a close circle of friends to help you get started. Dont go telling everyone you know what you're doing where and when you're doing it. You're gonna find yourself in a shit load of trouble. Especially if you're doing things that could make the government angry. Be careful.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not an expert. I simply have some experience and ideas and I want to share as I go. All I hope is that my little website can give some people some ideas and cause some good.

Beginners guide to starting a Mutual Aid

Mutual aid is not the end-all be-all of anarchy. However, in my opinion, it's one of the most accessible ways to directly make change happen. Mutual aid is about cooperating to serve community members. Mutual aid creates networks of care and generosity to meet the immediate needs of our neighbors. It also addresses the root causes of challenges we face and demands transformative change.

There are three things you should consider before making any sort of plans. People, Skills/Resources, and Location. Mutual aid is by definition, not something you can do by yourself. It is a community helping each other. Therefore, you should consider things carefully.

Who are you working with? How much time do they have to volunteer? What skills do they have? What problems do they want to help with? Where can you meet and find new people? When first starting out, choose one problem to focus on. Be that food insecurity, housing, funding, whatever you want. When choosing what you want to focus on, you should have your community in mind first. Talk to people, observe problems that you see, and listen to opinions on how you can help. There's probably no point in creating a community garden when your entire neighborhood is farmers, and there's likely no need for transportation if you live in a city with public transportation already available. Pick something that your community needs and find a group of people to help you accomplish your plans.

People-

A mutual aid or organization needs people in order to succeed. The more manpower, skills, ideas, and available time, the better. Perhaps start with friends or neighbors. People you've known a while and you know work together well. From there, talk to neighbors. Mention your plans/ideas and see what they think. Take their feedback in mind, and try to find common ground. Make connections with likeminded people, or people knowledgeable in the field that you're working in. If anyone shows an interest in what you're doing, feel free to invite them to help. The more minds, the better. One thing to keep in mind though is that you'll need very good people skills in order to pull this off. Every group has a limit that you can reach before conflict starts emerging. Whether it's disagreements, personal grudges, or political differences. No matter where you are, you're going to experience problems once your group starts getting too big. Remember that you dont have to like someone in order to work together. As long as you can agree on one problem to work on, focus on that.

Skills/resources-

Skills are a very important factor in any organization. Not only do you need people to volunteer, you also want a broad range of backgrounds, professions, and skills. In a mutual aid network where the whole premise is helping each other, you want people to be able to ask for help whenever they have a problem. Whether it's sewing, gardening, plumbing, engineering, carpentry, all of these skills can be extremely useful when you're in a pickle. Especially for people who do not have the funds to spend paying a professional.

Not only should you know people with different skills, it's also advised that you pick some up yourself. Whether it's learning a new hobby, taking classes, or teaching yourself. Knowledge is your friend and the more you have, the more self sustaining you can be.

Location-

Mutual aid (ideally) can't be online exclusively. Especially when you start branching out past a small friend group, you'll need a place to meet and draw in new people. Ideally it should be somewhere easily accessible to those wanting to join, but not standing out enough to draw the attention of law enforcement. I will right more on this later.