Mutual Aid groups have existed across time and cultures. Normally they develop within marginalized communities, harnessing collective power to provide basic needs for people failed by government systems. Mutual aids have operated within Wards 7 and 8 for years, but now there is one in every DC Ward.

As people began to lose their jobs during the pandemic, more local residents found themselves unable to purchase basic items for themselves or their families. Simultaneously, Washingtonians wanted to assist their neighbors. Volunteers from the already existing mutual aids worked across the city to support the creation of ward specific mutual aids.