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First Aid Kit: I Hosted a Mutual Aid Swap in My Backyard. So Can You!

It’s time to stop waiting around for those in power to save us. We, the people, can get everyone’s basic needs met.

Vincent D
First Aid Kit: I Hosted a Mutual Aid Swap in My Backyard. So Can You!
Illustration by Vincent D.
A hand drawn black and white comic that says "I hosted a mutual aid swap in my back hard and so can you! by Vincent D." Around the words are several animals, including a squirrel, an owl, a raccoon, and a pigeon.
A hand drawn black and white comic featuring several animals hanging around chatting. At the top left it says "Berkeley, CA November 2025." The squirrel says "Damn... people in my mutual aid group chats are asking for $25 to pay a bill... a pair of socks... folks are really struggling!" The owl says "The food pantry line was so long today... These SNAP cuts are so brutal." The raccoon says "And it's only going to get worse." The squirrel says "I'm so sick of watching all of us pass the same $20 back and forth! This town is full of millionaires, and people can't afford SOCKS?" The owl says "it's infuriating... at least people are doing some great mutual aid work." The raccoon says "I saw some folks online do a free swap market... it would be so cool to do something like that here!" The squirrel says, "well... we do have a big back yard." The raccoon says "... and we know a lot of folks in need." The squirrel says "FUCK IT! Let's get people some free shit!"
A hand drawn black and white comic that shows animals going all over town askig for and gathering up supplies. The squirrel says "Okay we picked a date, and now we need donations of food, clothes, art, and COVID supplies! Time to leverage our communities!" The raccoon says "I reached out to our local mask bloc!" and "I knocked on our neighbors doors and asked if they had food or other items to spare!" The frog says "I checked if my local library distributes COVID supplies!" The squirrel says "I asked local artist friends (who I kenew could spare the income) to donate their art so people could take it home as gifts" and "I asked for donations from people I know have extra to give, such as wealthy friends from church and work, and my rec sports team!" A caption says "We were floored by everyone's generosity. Well... almost everyone." A beaver wearing an apron that says "progressive grocery store" says "Sorry, you're not a 501 C3... we won't donate food to you unless we can get a tax write-off out of it! (Please ignore the dumpster full of perfectly usable food behind me.)"
A hand drawn black and white comic that shows an owl flying over several places — churches, encampments, parks and bus stops. The owl says "I'll post flyers for our event in places where our vulnerable neighbors will see them." The raccoon says "don't forget to post flyers on social media!" Then we see animals all carrying tables, chairs, signs and supplies. The pigeon says "Last but not least, we gathered a small army of friends to help us setup." Below, the scene is set with tables full of clothes, food, art, and COVID supplies. The raccoon says "we did it." The squirrel says "oh God, I hope people come..."
A hand drawn black and white comic. In the top left panel, it says "Day of the Swap" and the squirrel (wearing a mask) pokes a head around the corner and thinks "... is this even going to work?" Then, in the next panel, people start showing up. The host animals (all wearing masks) say "Welcome! Here's a mask for you! Please take as much as you need, food is over there, clothes swap is back there and uh ... oh wow!!" Below we see many, many animals coming and going, looking at food and and art and clothes and COVID tests. The host animals are all stunned, and say "uh damn."
A hand drawn black and white comic showing animals all gathering up supplies. At the top it says "There were no checks at the door, no sign in sheets, no name tags. No on had to prove they "deserved" to get what they needed." A reindeer cries and says "I can really have all of this?" A duck holding a bag of gluten free flours says "Score!! Food pantries never have stuff I can actually eat!" A text panel says "This wasn't a charity. Some people brought a lot, and some people took a lot, but you couldn't tell who was who, and no one cared." A bat says "Wow! Two weeks of groceries I won't have to use my food stamps for!" A text box says "I thought folks would come and go quickly but they stayed in our backyard for hours, talking and laughing and connecting. I was moved by how much it felt like a party, a celebration."
A hand drawn black and white comic. At the top it says "One joyous word rang in our heads all day long: abundance." Below, illustrated categories, saying "By the end of the day we had distributed 15 grocery store gift cards, 250+ bags of groceries, 50 pounds of produce, 45+ bags of clothes, 1,500 N95 and KN95 masks, 540 rapid COVID tests ALL sourced directly from our community, not a charity, nonprofit, or food bank." The raccoon says "We spent less than $50 total of our own money, and it was mostly on stuff we didn't really need..." Around the raccoon are examples: balloons, construction paper, and "sacks of potatoes I panic-bought in the discount section of Berkeley Bowl."
A hand drawn black and white comic. At the top, the squirrel says "If you have the space, time, and connections..." The owl says "... we highly encourage you to host your own mutual aid swap!" On a banner above and below the Oakland and SF skylines it says "As food banks, nonprofits, and other institutionalized sources of support continue to lose funding and close, it is networks of neighbors that will keep people fed and clothed. It's time to stop waiting around for those in power to save us. We, the people, can get everyone's basic needs met. It just takes a little relationship building and a lot of love." At the bottom, all the animals embrace around the text "We can build a better world, together."

More Resources

If you’re not sure where to begin, when it comes to getting plugged into your community you can start by finding a clothing swap, harm reduction supply distributors, food drives, and other similar projects in your area. Be on the lookout for mutual aid events near you, and stop by to see how they’re run and meet the organizers (you can find at least one every week on the COYOTE Calendar). Or, you could just knock on your neighbor’s door and ask what they need. The more connections we make within our communities, the better we can support one another. 

To get you started, here are some organizations to check out for inspiration and supplies:

COYOTE also has a new, longer resource guide for how to get started and connected with mutual aid here.

If you are inspired by this and organize a mutual aid event of your own, please let us know! Email hello@coyotemedia.org.

Published in: Power, Comics, Mutual Aid, First Aid Kit
Author
Vincent D

Vincent D

Vincent D is a queer cartoonist and organizer living in Berkeley. He's a 2016 graduate of the Independent Publishing Resource Center's Comics Certificate Program in Portland Oregon.

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