The coronavirus crisis brought an upsurge of local and neighbourhood organising in the UK. In the beginning of March, when coronavirus cases started climbing and lockdown was looming, COVID-19 mutual aid groups started cropping up in different parts of the country. According to their national website, there are currently 4,225 such groups across the UK, covering both rural and urban areas.
The groups are formed by neighbours coming together to help those self-isolating in their area due to coronavirus. Neighbours run errands for those who cannot leave their homes, including dog walking, picking up shopping and prescriptions, posting mail or paying bills at the post office. They also make friendly phone calls to those who may be feeling lonely and anxious in self-isolation.
This type of community organising is often considered apolitical as it aims at offering relief of people’s immediate needs rather than at changing government or corporate policy. Of course, the reality is much more complex than that as caring for the community can build alternative social relationships and change dominant ideas about how society works.
