How Mutual Aid Organizations Are Part of Public Health Solutions
The African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in Ypsilanti, Michigan was once a notable stop along the Underground Railroad. The congregation had a significant role in helping freedom seekers pass through to Canada as well as supporting those who decided to settle in Michigan. The Ypsilanti congregation met the needs of its growing community just as A.M.E. clergymen Richard Allen and Absalom Jones had done when they created the Free African Society, one of the first Black mutual aid societies in the country. Mutual aid efforts like the Underground Railroad and the Free African Society helped people survive through community mobilization, effectively transforming the social and economic possibilities at the time.
Mutual aid embraces cooperation for the common good. It is fueled by engaged community members seeking to rectify grave systemic failings through their own participation. As the slogan goes, mutual aid is “solidarity, not charity.” Trans activist and abolitionist Dean Spade writes, charity often establishes criteria to identify those who are deemed worthy of help, whereas solidarity eliminates the hierarchy and concentration of wealth. Mutual aid groups are critical for social movements like prison and police abolition, substance use and harm reduction, and responding to the rising cost-of-living.
According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washtenaw County has the highest rent in Michigan with an average rent of $1,384 for a two-bedroom apartment. It’s no surprise why homelessness is on the rise. In December 2023, there were 552 individuals experiencing homelessness in Washtenaw, a 15% rise from the year before and up nearly 50% since the end of 2020 based on Washtenaw County Continuum of Care Reports. Ypsilanti has felt the brunt of the homelessness epidemic in part due higher rates of poverty matched with fewer shelter and respite opportunities. The Covid pandemic only worsened unemployment rates, post-moratorium evictions, and overall mental and physical well-being. During this time, organizations like Washtenaw Camp Outreach and the Mutual Aid Network of Ypsilanti (MANY) increased their outreach efforts to address the medical and social needs of homelessness.
The Mutual Aid Network of Ypsilanti (MANY) is a collective of community organizers that support economic cooperation, self-determination, and abundance for historically marginalized communities. MANY creates survival programs on tent living, hosts skillshare events for automotive repair, and financially supports community programs and other mutual aid efforts. They work alongside Washtenaw Camp Outreach, a grassroots organization that visits camps, provides supplies, and advocates publicly with the growing unhoused population. As mutual aid groups apply pressure for shelter, washing and laundry facilities, and harm reduction programs, organizations like Care-Based Safety are developing a non-police response for certain mental health crises, non-emergency medical needs, and other public safety concerns.
In the absence of a permanent shelter in Ypsilanti, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church began the city’s first overnight shelter in the beginning of 2023 while Daytime Warming Center hours continued at the Ypsilanti Freighthouse. Unfortunately, warming centers end in March which leave individuals without relief from the elements, a hot shower, and a centralized location for warm meals.
As dual medical and public health students at the University of Michigan, Sarah and I first started to understand the importance of mutual aid and taking resources directly to people while serving as directors for Wolverine Street Medicine (WSM). “Street Medicine” is a practice where medical professionals go directly to where unhoused, especially unsheltered, individuals are located to offer medical care, social services, and other resources. WSM was operating primarily in Detroit until we began to receive requests from groups like Washtenaw Camp Outreach for foot care and medical check-ups in Ypsilanti. In school, we learn that nonprofits, institutions, and researchers are the primary champions of health-equity, but we seldom learn about the work of mutual aid groups and grassroot initiatives that often go unpaid and unrecognized. WSM has taught us that traditional medical care, in white coats and clinics, is only one model and does not necessarily help everyone. When we learned about the Michigan Health Equity Challenge sponsored by Molina Cares, we realized this would be an excellent opportunity to support the work of mutual aid organizations by developing a network of service providers, including WSM, to improve continuity from mutual aid work to healthcare programs. We worked with MANY to develop a proposal that focuses on the creation of this network and the incorporation of perspectives from the unhoused community in all new programs created from partnerships within the network.
It is imperative to recognize the public health impact of these mutual aid networks and consider how institutional support can amplify their effects without co-opting their programs. The need for policy change is evident and the immediate response from the community showcases a form of civic engagement that policymakers should learn from. Working with mutual aid groups can help craft solutions that are community-informed and sustainable. These modern endeavors for socioeconomic justice and health equity continue the arduous process of creating a more inclusive future, demonstrating that mutual aid is more than a historical footnote; it is a vibrant and essential practice for community empowerment in the face of systemic challenges.
