At its core, mutual aid isn’t charity—it’s solidarity. It’s about recognizing that the system is failing us. So we rely on one another instead of waiting for help that may never arrive.
-Casey-Lee Flood
When times get tough, the disability community has always had one powerful tool: Mutual aid. This ability to come together and support one another outside government or charity structures. Has been a core part of our survival for generations. Informal networks help disabled people get the food and care they need. Organized efforts resist systemic neglect. Mutual aid has been a necessity and an act of resistance. And in today’s political climate, where Medicaid and Medicare are under attack, it’s more crucial than ever.
It is very easy to get overwhelmed by all the potential changes and harm encroaching into our lives. It is very easy to feel utterly powerless. Living as a disabled person in the United States on its own is a challenge. Feeling overwhelmed when trying to figure it all out alone makes most things harder. We need each other to get through this alive. Mutual aid is not just a tool. It’s a lifeline and a support system that we can rely on in these challenging times.
Fortunately, we do not need to invent this system. Disabled humans, allies, and many people have already created an instructional manual for us to follow. This is a collective effort and a shared responsibility, and allies play a crucial role in this mutual aid system.
A History of Looking Out for Each Other
Mutual aid isn’t new to the disability community. Disabled people supported each other long before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This was even before disability rights were considered a movement. They did so in ways that weren’t just about survival but also about equity within our society.
Institutions were (and still are) dangerous, so disabled people created support systems to stay in the community. During COVID-19, disabled-led mutual aid groups organized grocery deliveries and secured PPE. They even provided financial assistance when stimulus checks weren’t enough.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was passed because disabled people protested, and mutual aid kept those protests going. What came to be known as the 504 Sit-ins, organized by the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD). Are the only reason Joseph Califano signed the regulations needed to enact and enforce it in 1977.
The disability community felt they had waited long enough and came together. The longest sit-in lasted 26 days. The Black Panthers Party and a local church fed the protesters. Everyone involved had a role, everyone there was important, and everyone helped each other. Mutual aid was the critical piece of the success of the sit-in.
At its core, mutual aid isn’t charity—it’s solidarity. It’s about recognizing that the system is failing us. So we rely on one another instead of waiting for help that may never arrive.
Why Mutual Aid Matters More Than Ever
Right now, we’re seeing an authoritarian leader and his followers. Our elected officials plan to attack Medicaid, Medicare, and other essential programs we rely on. These cuts aren’t just budget lines on a spreadsheet—they mean losing access to healthcare, home care, mobility aids, medications, and even basic dignity.
If they succeed and slash funding for these services, it will lead to deaths. People in our disabled community will die from losing aspects of their care. If the 17 states win or push their case to the Supreme Court and they win. Section 504 would be unconstitutional. So many people will be harmed and directly affected.
The elected officials say they are targeting “fraud,” getting rid of all those “200-year-olds” receiving Social Security benefits. They lie, see us as less valuable, and don’t realize a poignant truth. That 3 out of 4 people at some time in their lives will be disabled. They can be one of three out of four individuals or their family members. Do these politicians feel above the risks, the statistics, and the natural aging process? Why don’t they care?
The reality is that these policies disproportionately harm disabled people, seniors, and low-income communities. The goal is clear: take away support systems and make life more challenging. Forcing disabled people to have to fight harder just to survive.
As I said earlier, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Please hang on and keep reading. I promise the next part of this blog is about what we can do in simple steps.
While we continue advocating, protesting, and fighting for systemic change, we must also care for each other in real time. Mutual aid is how we take care of each other. Allies, friends, and family members can also play a crucial role in mutual aid. Allies standing in solidarity with us, supporting us, knowing the threats we face, and helping to amplify our voices.
How We Can Show Up for Each Other, Together with Our Allies
The good news? There are concrete ways to participate in mutual aid right now:
- Donate or raise money—Financial support is one of the most direct ways to help with medical expenses, mobility aid, or rent.
- Skill Sharing—Do you Have experience navigating Medicaid? Do you know how to file disability claims? Offering your knowledge can save someone else hours of frustration.
- Food and Supply Sharing– Local community fridges, meal trains, and supply swaps can ensure disabled people have what they need to survive.
- Care Networks – Organize check-ins for people who live alone, offer rides to doctor’s appointments, or help with errands.
- Advocacy as Mutual Aid – Fighting back against policy changes is mutual aid, too. Educating each other, organizing campaigns, and making noise matters. You can write to your local representatives, share information about policy changes on social media, or join advocacy groups to make your voice heard.
- Where should you start? The best recommendation I have heard and experienced is to see what support is already in your local community. Is there a food pantry? Are there any outreach programs for SNAP or other support anywhere?
- You can connect with the groups in charge of local community resources to help build upon them. They can also be part of your projects, dreams, and visions of mutual aid supporting the disabled community.
Scrolling for Justice…?
Social media is fantastic and has changed disabled people’s lives in so many ways. It can be a mutual aid platform, encouraging the sharing of experiences, people’s GoFundMe, and vital information. It connects people who care for each other and allows us to feel less alone.
Despite its potential benefits. Social media can also be toxic with its never-ending scrolling, trolls/bullies, and other means of harmful distraction. I am not saying to delete your account or that your online community isn’t real because it totally is. Some of our tools, like social media, can have negative aspects. That is all I wanted to point out. That doom scrolling, even if it is disabled content creators, will not accomplish any mutual aid on its own.
Building the Future We Deserve
Mutual aid isn’t a replacement for systemic change—it’s a way to survive while we fight for it. The attacks on disability rights and healthcare aren’t stopping, but neither are we. By strengthening our networks, sharing resources, and refusing to let each other fall through the cracks. We’re doing more than just resisting. We’re actively building the world we want to live in. This is a cause for hope, a reason to be optimistic about the future.
So, let’s keep showing up for each other. Because no one is disposable, and together, we are unstoppable.
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