How Mutual Aid Helped People Survive Everything from COVID-19 to Hurricane Helene [Video]

In Asheville, North Carolina, where communities are still reeling from the impact of Hurricane Helene, mutual aid efforts have been essential for survival, residents say. “It’s really hard to overstate how damaged some parts of our community are,” Asheville-based climate organizer Alex Lines told Teen Vogue in mid-October, with communities underwater, massive power outages, destroyed water infrastructure and more at the time. For residents, it felt like “There wasn’t really any plan ahead of time…most of the city’s water was [off] because of the damage, and there was no plan for distributing water.” With residents across the city left without access to water for weeks, and without a timeline from the city on when it would be restored or drinkable (while power and water have largely been restored, it wasn’t drinkable, as of last week), mutual aid efforts were crucial.

“People sprung into action immediately after the storm passed…checking in on their neighbors, sharing camping stoves and water bottles and …