wanna take part in mutual aid?

Table of Contents

• what really is mutual aid?

• opportunities to support LA wildfire victims

• my (trial) subscription model

hi friends,

I hope you’re all doing well! these are intense times we’re living in, especially here in california (though i & my loved ones are all safe). they’ve also been a moment where people are gathering together to care for their neighbors, to share kind words and resources, to check in with each other.

my original plan for this week’s newsletter was to launch a sliding scale subscription option for people who’d like to support the newsletter & the work i’m doing. don’t worry, there are no paywalls coming — this newsletter & my research products will always be free and accessible! rather, i wanted to create an opportunity for people who’d like to support my work financially and help me pursue this research as a living.

self-promotion always feels a bit sticky to me, and especially in this moment! so i’d like to place that in conversation with a discussion about mutual aid, and some specific resources you can access if you’d like to provide mutual aid to Angelenos in need right now.

what really is mutual aid?

one of my favorite definitions of mutual aid comes from Dean Spade, whose book Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (And The Next) is an easy must-read for anyone doing community work!

intentional communities are founded on the idea of mutual aid — that belief in our power to support each other through shared action and resources, without needing to rely on economic or political institutions.

mutual aid is a term that rose in popularity in opposition to the idea that helping those in need is always ‘charity’ — a term with a lot of power dynamics and social hierarchy implied. it’s a reframing to focus on the ways we can build each other up, both benefitting from the care we give & receive.

some of my favorite examples of mutual aid in my interview groups:

• a group of veterans building each other houses together, addressing not just housing needs, but also building comraderie, routine, and physical health

• a mother in detroit who lost her son to gun violence creating after school activities and safe play spaces for kids in her neighborhood

• groups of transgender farmers creating safe spaces to live together, and shipping fresh produce to ‘food desert’ neighborhoods

• maskoke elders reviving their language in their ancestral lands

LA-focused mutual aid opportunities

this week i wanted to share a resource sheet i got from The Ana, a queer/BIPOC-led, Los Angeles-based literary magazine and activist group. it highlights a bunch of great organizations that can directly channel money and resources to vulnerable groups during this crisis.

You should be able to scan the QR codes above on your phone if you’re reading this on a computer. Each will send you to the organization’s website or donation page.

my (trial) subscription model

Meanwhile, on a personal note, I’ve been thinking hard for a while now about what monetization opportunities I want to consider.

So far, I’ve rejected opportunities to put paid advertisements in the newsletter; I also really don’t want to put any of this content behind a paywall, as a core motivation of this project is making my research accessible, breaking down the ‘ivory tower’ barriers that keep research results from being made available and useful to people.

At the same time, I’d like to pursue this work professionally, and that means needing to create reliable income streams from this work.

So here’s what I’ve settled on: I’ve created an optional, sliding scale, subscription system. If you’d like to help support my work financially, you can follow this link to set up a monetary subscription of an amount of your choosing — whatever feels reasonable to you right now. Think of it like a Patreon account; I’m using PayPal instead because it’s the only platform that allows for sliding-scale subscriptions.

You can read more & access this link through this shiny new page I’ve added to my website this week. It’s also linked in the new ‘support this work’ button below.

Anyone who subscribes I’ll send an exclusive monthly digest with updates, thank-yous, and surveys for what kind of perks you’d like for subscribing.

Thank you for all your support, even if it’s just clicking on the newsletter and reading this far. I appreciate you!

Much love,

jasper