Why the culture of caring isn’t working: charity versus mutual aid
Written by Jenesy Gabrielle Burkett
Charity has always been a hot button topic with many supporters and critics. People arguing whether we should be supporting “social projects” out of our own pockets or whether our taxes should be paying for that. People critiquing how nonprofits utilize (and sometimes misuse) resources and funds. In recent years, this conversation is changing.
Rather than questioning how charities, or nonprofits, spend their money or whether we should be supporting social issues in the first place, people are questioning whether charity is the answer at all. Millenials and Gen Z in particular are challenging charity as a concept — we are less concerned with being charitable and giving for the sake of giving and more concerned with our communities. Are the people in our communities supported? Do they have food and shelter? Do kids in our neighborhoods have school supplies and clothes that fit them? Are their families supported financially and emotionally? These are questions that charity never deemed to ask and mutual aid works to answer.
What is charity?
Charity as a verb is the act of giving money or food to “the needy” out of generosity or helpfulness. As a noun, charity is an organization that facilitates the act of giving to the “needy.” In the U.S., charity is almost synonymous with the nonprofit sector. Thus, many USAmericans participate in charity through donations to nonprofits including churches and hospitals and such.
What’s wrong with charity?
To make a complicated situation simple, charity focuses on the symptom of social inequities from the frame of “us” and “them.” It capitalizes on the frame of thought that as people with money and resources, it is our duty to support those “less fortunate” as we see fit. In action, it maintains current power structures with the idea that those with money and resources only give as much as they can to maintain their current status and give only so much as to not fully empower systemic change.
This is in contrast with mutual aid which stems from acknowledging the systemic issues which situate some with better access to resources and wealth than others and works to redistribute those resources.
What is mutual aid?
First and foremost, mutual aid is about community. It is about recognizing the causes of houselessness, food insecurity and access to basic necessities. It is about building a network with your neighbors and community to support one another. It’s also about wealth redistribution — when those with financial and social resources use what they need and distribute their excess.
Navigating who should give and how much you should give
Anyone whose needs are met by their income and has excess after meeting your immediate need should be giving mutual aid, particularly white people. How much you give and the capacity you give is ultimately up to you and your values. My partner and I do our best to give directly to individuals in need every month as well as engaging with food donations and calls for school supplies, supplies for houselessness camps near us and other immediate needs that change from season to season throughout the year. How you give will depend on you, your resources, your social position and ultimately your community and how you want to interact with that community.
Where to find mutual aid networks
One of the first things you’ll find when looking into mutual aid is that there isn’t a database or “established” resources on how to get involved with mutual aid. That’s because mutual aid isn’t meant to be systemized. It isn’t meant to be clickable and programmable, it’s meant to be interpersonal.
So, a good place to start is near you. Going to community events in your neighborhood, getting involved with community resource centers near you. This can look like going to community centers hosted by the city or community-led centers like the Q Center in Portland, OR which provides resources and organizes community events for the LGBT+ community in Portland.
When looking for individuals to donate to directly, there are many Instagram accounts and Facebook groups that share information submitted by people in need, in your city and in specific communities you’re a part of. Once plugged in with those online communities, it can be easier to connect with people individually.
A few notes on mutual aid
Mutual aid is a more personal form of giving which means you are usually interacting directly with the people and communities you’re supporting. That doesn’t mean you are entitled to details about their lives, their situation and what they do with the money you give. This can be hard for some people to accept, because our society prioritizes attachment to wealth over basic human need.
So, I urge you to take note of your initial reactions to mutual aid. Are you hesitant? Do you feel defensive about the idea? Are you questioning what will happen with the money you give and where it will be spent? Rather than brushing off these initial reactions and mutual aid along with them, think about where these stem from. Could they be internalized from family members and friends? Do they stem from a previous understanding of who deserves wealth and access to resources? Maybe that in order to have access to these things you have to work for them.
I get that, I do. Living in a society that prioritizes profit over people, that worships overworking yourself, that puts the capitalist machine over health and wellbeing, it becomes second nature to accept those things as truth. But they don’t have to be. We can create a different world where we support each other, where we don’t have to fear not holding wealth because there’s an understanding that we look out for each other when we’re in need. Which is what mutual aid is working toward.
