Caring for Each Other: Mutual Aid & Protection

Connection is at the heart of organizing. Extremists want us to feel isolated and alone — but when we come together, we’re unstoppable. The antidote to division is community building.

This is why Red Wine & Blue launched TroubleNation — our national grassroots organizing program — to supercharge your power to build community locally.

We make it easier than ever to get started. Whether you’re forming a new group or growing an existing one, TroubleNation will help you find other Red Wine & Blue members who live near you and share your frustration with the rise of extremism in their communities. We offer everything you need — exclusive content, training, event opportunities, and connections with grassroots leaders across the country. Best of all, groups remain independent while benefiting from Red Wine & Blue’s support.

Learn about mutual aid & protection from the past

At many points in our country’s history, communities have needed to step in and support groups who were being oppressed or attacked. The Black Panthers’ free breakfast program, for example, provided basic needs for Black communities facing systemic racism. During the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, queer communities created their own health clinics, therapy groups, and food pantries. Your group can learn about these and other examples.

• Work through online resources to hone your skills and gather information from community organizers with experience. Mutual Aid Hub is a website built in March 2020 to highlight the incredible work of mutual aid organizers around the country and facilitate connections and shared strategies.
• Read articles about how to start local mutual aid from trusted groups such as American Friends Service Committee.
• Watch a documentary film, such as A Place To Breathe or The Elements of Mutual Aid: Experiments Towards Liberation, for inspiration and ideas.