Our final report is now released — Mutual Aid Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Strengthening Civic Infrastructure in East Boston through Community Care. Download the report here in English and Spanish.
This report presents the findings of a community action research project supported by AmeriCorps (grant #22REAMA002) and conducted by Tufts University’s Department of Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning (UEP) with five community organizations in East Boston: Center for Cooperative Development and Solidarity (CCDS), City Life/Vida Urbana (CLVU), Maverick Landing Community Services (MLCS), Mutual Aid Eastie (MAE), and Neighbors United for a Better East Boston (NUBE). This initiative extends an October 2022 report Grounded and Interconnected in the Pandemic: Community engagement and organizing adaptations from COVID response efforts in Metro Boston.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, mutual aid efforts intensified in East Boston, as they did in many marginalized communities. Some of the resident leaders involved in this work define mutual aid as a new way of living that embodies reciprocity and solidarity. Throughout history, disenfranchised groups in the US, Latin America, and across the world have built mutual aid networks to sustain themselves. Mutual aid has served as a tool of survival during and after natural disasters and times of economic distress. In Massachusetts, ongoing mutual aid efforts became essential during the COVID-19 pandemic when many immigrants did not receive government aid, and support from social service providers was insufficient.
Latinx community leaders in East Boston strengthened a network of community organizations, service agencies, funders, and volunteers to facilitate partnerships and increase access to resources for those experiencing economic and health challenges. The East Boston mutual aid network has involved numerous residents who had not previously engaged in civic initiatives. The network has fostered and enhanced collaborations among community groups, nonprofit service providers, government entities, and funders. In East Boston, mutual aid initiatives are evolving and becoming more permanent endeavors, viewed by some as enhancing community capacity to address and support diverse needs and care for one another.
This project explores how mutual aid efforts strengthened and emerged during the pandemic and how they have impacted civic infrastructure in East Boston. Mutual aid responses were particularly strong in East Boston during the pandemic. These efforts built upon the existing civic infrastructure and included informal and formal efforts. A new Mutual Aid Eastie network emerged and continues to this day, along with other mutual aid initiatives.
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