Historical Overview of Mutual Aid Societies

Prevalence of Mutual Aid Societies Among American Racial and Ethnic Groups

Summary

Although many mutual aid societies were formed during the 19th and 20th centuries in response to the needs and crises in American society and other areas of the world, many could not survive due to lack of sustained membership and funding.

Salient Features of Mutual Aid Societies, Associations, and Groups

Mutual aid societies, associations, and groups involve human relations and cooperation among group members and with other groups as well. People with common issues and problems are bound to have empathy for others and tend to extend their helping hand to those who are in similar situations. This is the basis for the spirit of compassion, concern, reciprocity, support, and aid for one another. Members of mutual aid societies unite as they are going through common struggles and let other people know they are not alone in their journey. Chine (2010) noted that these groups mobilize their “strength in numbers” and “all are in the same boat (p. 141).” Although mutual aid groups experience many changes, as identified by Steinberg (2004), they are successful in managing these and provide a cost-effective solution to deal with problems (Gitterman, 1979, p. 15).

The members of MASAGs take personal responsibility and emphasize face-to-face social interactions. They create an image in the community; mobilize financial resources, material assistance, and emotional support; and frequently work on a “common cause.” By doing so, they achieve their common goals. Jacobs and Goodman (1989) estimated that every year approximately 10 million people make use of MASAGs; it was also estimated that at the end of the millennium, more than 25 million Americans belonged to MASAGs (Kessler et al., 1997). Unlike therapeutic groups, MASAGs are not formed by professional providers (Rootes & Aanes, 1992; Schwartz, 1961). Rather, members of mutual aid societies depend on the interaction among the group members. In addition, a wide variety of problems, including those that are beyond the capacities of individuals, are addressed by MASAGs (Katz, 1993; Riessman & Carroll, 1995). Currently, more clinicians and social policy analysts are interested in using the mutual help group model to provide services in a cost-effective and sustainable manner. Because many individuals’ problems are interconnected with the macro environment, the scope of social work interventions expands with the macro component.

Social Functions and Mutual Aid Societies, Associations, and Groups

In the past, by providing help to individuals, MASAGs assumed many functions of social welfare spontaneously and on an ad hoc basis because social welfare policies, delivery systems, and funding mechanisms did not exist to meet the needs of people. MASAGs emerged to fill the gaps in services that governmental and/or private agencies could not adequately provide. Assumption of social welfare functions by MASAGs occurred in the past and also happens in current times, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Steinberg (2004) describes two instrumental activities of MASAGs—processes and outcomes. The processes in which members of mutual aid societies or groups engage include the exchange of input and feedback (Bogo & McKnight, 2006). The underlying concepts on which MASAGs operate are reciprocal relationships, mutuality, and interdependence (Gutman & Shennar-Golan, 2012; Kurland & Salmon, 2005). They involve “face-to-face interaction, shared responsibility, exchange of multiple resources (emotional support, material aid, information, instrumental assistance) and reciprocity” (Hernandez-Plaza, 2006, p. 1162). In addition, the members of these societies take roles of providers as well as recipients of support. And these groups operate independently, guided by self-governance principles (Hatzidimitriadou, 2002). Overall, they have evolved into intermediary institutions and as a support system in both informal and formal ways across various settings. The evolution of these institutions mobilized all kinds of resources, and they became vehicles of influence and change at multiple system levels, such as the improvisation of nutritional intake and health care practices, expansion of sociopolitical relations, involvement in decision-making, protection of fauna and flora, and so on.

Three major categories of mutual interest groups are therapy groups, support groups, and self-help groups (Helgeson & Gottlieb, 2000). Therapy groups are excluded from this discussion because they belong to the micro social work practice area, although they may overlap with macro practice in the process of assisting and advocating for clients. Support groups, although they appear similar to self-help groups, are different because they have closed membership and are usually led by an expert who facilitates the group activities to accomplish group objectives, improving coping and adjustment aligned with individual needs (Helgeson & Gottlieb, 2000). Mutual aid or self-help groups are based on reciprocity of group members in giving and receiving help and support (Orford, 1992). On the contrary, MASAGs are informal social entities that make support and services available to all their members. This characteristic, as well as the flexibility of MASAGs, makes them accessible and trustworthy to people so that they can join and leave at will. MASAGs also provide a platform integrating the formal and informal structures through exchanges of mutual aid and support, negotiation, and conflict-resolving mechanisms. Services and resources are more accessible to vulnerable, at-risk, and oppressed populations that are underrepresented in the formal systems in terms of service utilization and resources (Hernández-Plaza et al., 2006). In this respect, MASAGs are like a social welfare system that takes care of the needs of people and protects them from crises and risks.

MASAGs are effective in making services and resources accessible to underrepresented and marginalized populations. They address common problems based on collective wisdom and reflection as they tap into group resources such as others’ knowledge and insights. Unlike other groups, they are formed by peers who have come together for mutual assistance that eventually creates a strong bond among members. They work toward fulfilling common needs and goals, overcoming common limitations/challenges, disrupting the problem homeostasis, and achieving desired social and/or personal change (Katz & Bender, 1976).

Theoretical Perspectives on Mutual Aid Societies, Associations, and Groups

The practice with MASAGs is supported by empowerment and advocacy theories, ecofeminism, and social reconstruction theories with conceptual frameworks, practice assumptions, dynamic interactions with the group, and values.

The theories explain why and how the mutual aid efforts need to be organized to achieve the goals for which they are established such as societies, associations, cooperatives, and groups with dual objectives of providing mutual aid and building support systems and resources for the members and non-members with and without certain restrictions. Many of the initiatives of MASAGs have resulted in not only member empowerment but also social change in the larger community or society. Empowerment is a core intervention strategy employed across settings in social work practice to achieve client self-reliance (Simon, 1995). Self-directed group work is an endorsement of empowerment and a participative approach (Mullender & Ward, 1991). Advocacy has its origin in the legal field but is now a tool for social workers to bring about policy changes and to secure resources for their clients and client systems (Boon, 1993).

Empowerment and advocacy strategies also promote a positive environment wherever MASAGs are deployed as vehicles for change in the macro environment. Empowerment is a process that mobilizes people’s participation, builds strength by adding numbers and by using people’s power, helps people engage in collective decision-making to make the “powerless powerful,” and leads people to initiate action to change their lives (Payne, 2005).

Collective power is generated through MASAGs, which are instrumental in negotiating equity and resources in the larger environment. Ecosystem theory refers to the dynamic interaction between a client system and a larger environment. The evolving relationship determines the immediate and long-term outcomes of MASAGs. Social learning occurs among the members of MASAGs through interactions. With increased collective power and influence, MASAGs garner more resources and visibility in the larger environment. This leads to a reconstruction of their social reality and unleashed potential. This has been demonstrated by MASAGs in the past and in the current times, and many successful stories attest to this proposition. Empowering vulnerable people who have had fewer or no resources or power through MASAGs has made a remarkable difference in their lives, resulted in securing equity, justice, and empowerment for marginalized individuals, groups, and communities. While empowering the members in the group, it has brought equity and justice among the members, including gender equality in decision-making. Hence, MASAGs have served as vehicles to ameliorate vulnerabilities, disparities, and inaccessibility and to create opportunities for empowerment and equity through the core principle of mutual aid. Mutual empowerment involves “self-efficacy, ability to help oneself, expansion of freedom, of choice and action” (Narayan, 2005, p. 4). The larger goal of this approach is to achieve adequate, comprehensive, and sustainable socioeconomic and political development (Bates, 2005).

Ecosystem theories are based on three major viewpoints: the ecocritical and ecosocial/ecofeminist perspectives (Matthies et al., 2001), the life model perspective (Germain & Gitterman, 1996), and the ecosystems perspective (Mattaini et al., 2001). Ecofeminism (Besthorn & McMillen, 2002) points out that none of the political, social, and ecological systems in social work have worked to improve women’s position. On the other hand, the ecocritical model discusses, for example, how Germany undertook several environmental and green project initiatives as part of the ecocritical approach during the 1980s.

Social construction theory obiters that it is the social interaction among people which serves as a basis for knowledge and understanding of the world. This knowledge construct is often derived from cultural, historical, and local settings and conveys social experiences in an intelligible manner. Payne (2005) notes, “social construction is an interpretivist, postmodernist theory proposing that understanding about the world comes from interactions between people as part of many interchanges in a social, cultural and historical context” (p. 58). Thus, it is a unique perspective that involves in-depth analysis of human interactions vis-à-vis lived experiences. Mutual aid groups have also adopted the social constructionist approach to understand the self, status and reflexivity of women from the spectrum of gender equality in order to reshape the patriarchal social realities that exist in the social, political, and cultural realms of women’s lives, thereby, this postmodern approach is critical, but hearing the voice of weaker gender as part of societal discourses is imperative (Davis et al., 1985) because they have been structurally subjected to different subjugations (Gilligan, 1986).

Mutual Aid Societies, Associations, and Groups in Practice and Select Examples

Kropotkin (1842–1921) formulated his concept of mutual aid in the late 19th century as a response to Darwinian evolutionism and the human intrinsic predisposition for gregariousness. Thus, he is often referred to as the “founder of mutual aid,” although his work is not associated with contemporary mutual aid social entities in the United States or elsewhere (Maxwell, 2021). Dean Spade characterized the functionary of mutual aid as “survival work” practiced in conjunction with movements for social transformation (Shotwell, 2021). The long march of mutual aid societies can be seen in the United States from the 1933 report by the President’s research committee to the integrated network of solidarity of present times.

MASAGs provide a variety of services and support to their members that have impacted political, social, health, educational, spiritual, psychological, economic, and financial realms, although they have had a primary focus on mutual aid. Whereas mutual aid networks constituted the most popular form of voluntary association in the United States throughout the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, mutual aid groups performed more clinical work in the 1950s and 1960s. Numerous alcoholics anonymous groups in the United States are organized by mutual aid organizations (Kessler et al., 1997). Through their participation in MASAGs, women have gained awareness, personal control, a social network, and experience in handling conflicts in life. Brody et al. (2016) indicated that participation of women in MASAGs has stimulated empowerment because of mutual help and support, training, and increased financial stability, which may in turn result in improvement in women’s bargaining power, autonomy, and self-confidence and thus, elevate their status (Bhoj et al., 2013; Brody et al., 2016; Caro et al., 2013). Women’s groups have expanded their involvement in the areas of microcredit, entrepreneurship, and empowerment.

Empowerment has resulted in greater social justice through institutional policies and practices. For example, formal financial institutions have recognized informal MASAGs to allocate financial resources for the vulnerable groups that have been historically excluded, including women. Mutual aid societies created for different ethnic groups in the United States have contributed to the empowerment of African Americans and Hispanic Americans in current times and immigrants during the 19th century. The process of empowerment changed the power dynamics and resulted in the transfer of greater power and influence for many recent immigrant groups. MASAGs contributed significantly toward this goal in transforming the lives of members of minority communities, especially during Blacks’ struggles in America (Solomon, 1976) and for immigrants (Hood, 1991). Similarly, Barooah et al. (2019) note that MASAGs have produced positive economic, social, and empowerment outcomes, including increased financial literacy, productivity, diversification of livelihoods, and participation in economic activities. Mehta et al. (2020) found a positive correlation between membership in MASAGs and sanitation indicators at scale (improved reproductive, maternal, newborn, child health and nutrition) and improving primary health care in India.

MASAGs have contributed to empowerment by bringing equity to the economic sector and inclusion of women in overall development. MASAGs have empowered women of color and the underprivileged through skill-building. Women have gained access to resources so that they can participate in the workforce and generate sustainable livelihoods (Ordway, 2011). In addition, the green movements throughout the world started with the concern of saving nature and its resources. For instance, the anti-militarism movement in Europe, the movement against dumping hazardous waste in the United States, and Kenya’s green belt movement are regarded as remarkable ecofeminist movements that formed based on collective action and self-help motives (Jyothi, 2019).

Likewise, volunteers of MASAGs throughout the United States deliver groceries to the elderly and immunocompromised people, and their help was critical during COVID-19 and important in the battle against structural racism, whether donating food and first aid to Black Lives Matter demonstrators or gathering money for the almost 10 million Americans who are behind on rent due to the epidemic (Hastings, 2021). Within the first week following a hurricane, Trinity University students with Trinity Mutual Aid in San Antonio, Texas, received more than $120,000 in donations to deliver kits with food, water, first aid, and winter coats to community members before freezing temperatures hit (Perez, 2021).

Sundaram (2012) notes that MASAGs are instrumental in changing the macro environment by improving infrastructure, enhancing skill sets, marketing products and services, availing the advanced technological and communication gadgets, increasing economic strength through cumulative savings, becoming involved in community action and politics, achieving social harmony and social justice, and paving the way for a sustainable quality of life. As a result, development at the macro level and empowerment at the individual level are outcomes of MASAGs.

Even during the unprecedented chaos of COVID-19, mutual aid networks cropped up throughout the United States at the start of the lockdown, helping communities organize themselves in the absence of adequate state support and resources. These types of projects have a long history in the United States, especially within early organized labor (Adereth, 2021).

Timely action of a few countries during the pandemic resulted in the creation of support services (Patel et al., 2021). In a few countries, such support services were created to help people self-isolate. Basic services for shopping and collection of medicines were offered. Self-organized groups to help neighbors were created by community members in the United Kingdom (Al-Mandhari et al., 2020; Pleyers, 2020; Sitrin & Sembrar, 2020). Nearly 4,000 mutual aid groups emerged throughout the country (Booth, 2020). Many new community support groups emerged to organize the needed support services, and they did not categorize themselves as “mutual aid societies.” Furthermore, many existing community organizations had to shift their focus to provide services to COVID-19 victims and survivors and their families. Responding to the prolonged COVID-19 situation over 2 years, many mutual aid groups evolved and flourished (Firth, 2020; Mao et al., 2021). Some groups were stuck to the mutual aid tradition.

Prasad (1993) highlights the Urban Basic Services Program, which was launched in India during the late 1980s with the support of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund to make basic provisions and services such as water, health and sanitation, and education available in urban slums. The Urban Basic Services Program demonstrated the benefits of mutual aid groups, primarily operating through self-help groups, and people’s participation in and financial resources provided for the activities. They pooled economic resources by voluntary donations, fundraising, and reaching out to support each other’s income-generation activities. COVID-19 has been one of the most challenging times for communities, which have had to seek resources from within and outside.

Taylor (1996) examines the postpartum depression support group movement and explores the relationship between gender, the ideas and strategies of women’s self-help groups, and feminism. Indeed, the bond between self-help and market economies can be seen in the dominance of economic language; however, mutual aid groups minimize structural inequalities and refute collective resistance against such inequality (Riley et al., 2019).

Mutual aid groups helped create hope during the coronavirus (Mahanty & Phillipps, 2020), and the support they provided was an essential part of the public response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom (Tiratelli & Kaye, 2020). These groups focused on building bottom-up structures of cooperation and horizontal networks of solidarity (Laville, 2010), which represents a radical divergence from traditional public services and forms of volunteerism (Spade, 2020). The COVID-19 crisis led to mutual aid groups providing grocery shopping and delivery services, food parcel deliveries, collecting prescription drugs, dog walking, postcard and library services, emotional support by telephone/email helpline, informational support on existing public services, community gardening, and more (Mao et al., 2021; O’Dwyer et al., 2020; Tiratelli & Kaye, 2020). Psychological support services and processes are currently being studied to determine the sustainability of these groups in the future (Bowe et al., 2019; Mao et al., 2021; Wakefield et al., 2021).

Conclusion

Mutual aid societies, associations, and self-help groups are enduring vehicles of mutual help and support for people, especially vulnerable, at-risk, marginalized, and underrepresented populations in societies throughout the world, including most developed societies such as the United States. MASAGs have a sustained and successful record of providing relief, help, and support to people in crises but have gone beyond to empower members and nonmembers and transform communities through voluntary and grassroots initiatives for self-reliance in the United States and beyond. They became the voice of the poor, vulnerable, and oppressed groups and at-risk populations. Working with groups of diverse modalities proved an effective strategy for social work practice in organizing communities for social change and development. Practice with groups (an intermediary arena) strengthens macro practice and complements micro practice as well. Although working with MASAGs has immense potential for social work practice, as a practice arena, it is still underpracticed and underrepresented. MASAGs mobilize human capital, moral support, and other needed resources to address their needs, problems, and concerns. These modalities of practice offer many opportunities for social learning and human development through skill-building, peer mentoring, etc. Hence, empowering individuals through MASAGs is very effective in the United States and globally, and successful stories are testimony to this. It is no exaggeration to conclude that MASAGs meet the needs of individuals, as mutual support is fostered in groups and sustained communities are created through MASAGs. This is the reason they are viewed as a hidden arena of macro social work practice.