Mutual aid refers to the voluntary and reciprocal exchange of resources between members in the community. It is particularly crucial in times of crisis such as natural disasters, where networks and services are widely disrupted. Communities which unite and take on the responsibility of caring for each other are more likely to come out stronger, with a stronger sense of efficacy and optimism as a community.
For older persons, providing and receiving timely help from neighbours can be more effective, compared to reliance solely on community services. Despite the erosion of social ties in recent times, and especially in urban settings, mutual aid can be revived and is a vital means to build social capital and to promote a more resilient community.
- Encourage the formation of support groups where members exchange resources and help such as food through food banks, child-minding, or savings, see Case Study 3.3b for details. Guidelines can be put in place to ensure that pooled resources are used fairly, with community organizations providing space and operational support.
- Build structures at the local government level to encourage and promote volunteerism. Local government can take on the role of growing volunteer supply, building volunteer management capabilities, and brokering partnerships between demand and supply at the town level. See Case Study 3.3a for the success story of how the local government in Don Kaew, Thailand increased local volunteerism by 40% over 10 years. Thailand particularly leverages community networks and local volunteers to support caregivers in providing long-term care, especially in rural areas, see Good Practice 2.3 for more details.
Community Savings Groups (CSG) set up by COSE are particularly advantageous for poor older women in Philippines who cannot access loans from banks. Group members collectively save a stated amount that is deposited into a group account. In turn, they can borrow money at a small interest rate that is co-decided by members. Guidelines are put in place to safeguard the community savings; for example, by restricting further loans of defaulters, and reducing their savings until payment is made. Other guidelines include allocating a certain portion of the fund that can be withdrawn for emergency purposes without payment (e.g., burial money, disasters). By pooling their risks and savings, members can better cope with emergencies, prevent destitution, as well as strengthen their livelihood to be more resilient.
Volunteerism is an integral part of the community ‘DNA’ or identity in the Don Kaew subdistrict of Chiangmai. As an autonomous subdistrict in Thailand, the local government has increased the percentage of volunteers in the population to over 40% in the last 10 years. A key factor is promoting the meaning of volunteerism through public campaigns that leverage Buddhism beliefs of ‘gaining merit’, and role models by government officials who volunteer to lead by example. Volunteer training is standardized across the subdistrict through the college of volunteerism, which certifies volunteers in 8 different areas. Individuals in the subdistrict can identify areas they want to work on, receive training, and be attached to different organizations through coordination by the local government with honorarium provided. Graduates from the college can also upgrade to professional training pathways (e.g., to be a nurse) for more employment opportunities.
- Introduce digital platforms to do matching of resources to local needs. Having an app facilitates real time help, by matching people who need help to those who can offer, based on their geospatial location and condition in real-time. See Case Study 3.3c on the SG Assist app developed in Singapore for this purpose.
- Tap on physical platforms to encourage mutual aid, for example letting community members use community notice boards to share information about deals, services, resources, or request for help. Other platforms include flea markets where residents can sell their pre-loved items to raise funds or set up booths to offer their skills/time to help others.
SGAssist is an application created in Singapore for community members to help one another. Users can request for assistance on the app in real time and be matched using an algorithm to a pool of nearby volunteers. Volunteers render help according to the needs of each case in exchange for vouchers and subsidies provided by corporate sponsors upon completion of the task. To date, the app has attracted 4297 users, recruited 3013 volunteers, and rendered help in 1042 cases.
- Set up spaces for community members to interact and engage in activities, such as community gardens and cafes. These spaces promote participation, bonding, and place attachment through positive memories of time spent there. See Case Study 3.3d on Café Kawan, a communal space that is co-run by seniors for seniors in Singapore.
- Encourage co-sharing of private spaces, especially in communities with limited public spaces or constraints in using them. For example, space sharing by educational or religious institutions so community organizations and members of the public run activities, use their facilities during off-peak hours, or even seek temporary shelter e.g. for homeless individuals.
Located within the community club of the Whampoa neighbourhood, Singapore, Café Kawan is an informal space for older persons to relax, enjoy a meal and learn together. Staff foster participatory approaches in letting participants decide how the space is used. Selected days in the week are for participants to organize their activities, serve meals cooked in the café’s kitchen for members of the public, as well as sell products. When the space is not used for recreational activities, formal courses for older persons can be conducted (e.g., managing mental health). The café seeks to foster an ambience that of family-like warmth to increase sense of community.
Literature shows that good quality spaces tend to have four qualities: accessible; people are engaged in activities there; comfortable – the space has a good image; and finally, sociable for people to meet and take people there when they come to visit. Availability of these spaces in one’s vicinity is increasingly important with as mobility decreases, to maintain one’s level of activity, social networks, and well-being.
Mutual aid among community members is an invaluable resource that is well-documented to foster community and individual resilience. Similarly, in our case studies, older persons benefited from receiving help and providing help to their neighbours or peers (IC13). At the community level, caring for and helping one another can increase a Sense of Community (CC4) and collective efficacy. At the individual level, helping others and receiving aid can imbue older persons with a powerful sense of purpose and generativity. When their efforts are recognised, it improves Optimism and Hope (IC3), and Perceptions of Ageing (IC5), which in turn can enhance their Mental Health and Wellbeing (IC11).
- Use values and cultural norms to promote the meaning of volunteerism and helping others, these can be communicated through local stories, religious communities, the media, and other platforms in empathetic and creative ways, see Good Practice 1.1 and 1.2.
- Be mindful of the life priorities and retirement ideals of older adults when promoting senior volunteerism. Some older adults may prefer to help informally rather than commit as volunteers as the latter to be associated with being officious.
- Willingness to render help on mutual aid platforms can be increased through putting in place ways to verify the needs requested by users, and appropriate use of resources donated. For example, in the Donations-in-kind, initiative, the National Volunteer Philanthropy Centre in Singapore works with charities to verify resources that charities need before requesting for donations on their website
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