Mutual aid projects tend to occur within specific communities. Communities could be constituted within various frameworks such as locality, identity, shared interests, or—for the purposes of this toolkit—the people you work alongside, whether they work at the same place of employment or in the same field. Meaningful communities do not erase differences or assume everyone has the same needs, but rather they should foster solidarity across differences and recognize that one person will likely be engaged in many communities. This means people may prioritize some of their communities over others, especially when the needs of one community can be in conflict with the needs of another community, or the person who is a member of both has limited resources to share and has to make choices. Just as every member of a community will have different needs, every member will also be willing/able to contribute to different degrees.

Exercises

How to make a mutual aid map created by Laura Mctighe provides exercise prompts for individuals or groups to map their needs, their communities/who they are responsible for. Made for educators and organizers. 

For additional exercises, go to the section Exercises: Knowing Your Community  and Exercises: Mapping Your Workplace.