Mutual aid groups give personalized help after Hurricane Ida

Following Hurricane Ida, mutual aid networks sprang into action to supplement the more established relief services from federal and local governments, and charities

The day after Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana, Delaney Nolan spent hours biking around New Orleans, handing out money to people who needed to pay for supplies or for the hotel rooms where they'd taken shelter. Once the cash ran out — banks were closed, and ATMs were empty or no longer running without electricity — Nolan Venmo'd people the money they needed. As an organizer for the mutual aid group Southern Solidarity in Louisiana, she and her team also handed out free meals from restaurants that were cooking up their food stockpiles before they spoiled. Nolan is among the faces of philanthropy that are tending to the immediate personal losses inflicted by the hurricane. Mutual aid networks like Southern Solidarity spring into action to supplement the more established relief services from federal and local governments, as well as larger charities. The networks, in which community members pool resources and distribute donations to care for one another, seek to avoid the traditional charity model of giver and receiver. They grew in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic as communities across the country faced dire needs. And now they are mobilizing in the wake of other disasters like Hurricane Ida.