Reddit Mutual Aid Society

In response to the recent (imho valid) criticism of crowd-sourcing money problems on Reddit I propose we set up a Reddit Mutual Aid Society to help fellow Redditors. Folks can ask for a specific amount of money or a particular type of help, provide some proof of if asked for, and members of the group could decide if it was worth helping. We can keep track of the amount of money donated so that someone who really needs $50 doesn't get $1000.

This will take aid requests off of the front page so that those who don't want to see them don't have to.

I will try to summarize some of the main ideas that people have come up with:

• This will be a space where people can help each other.

• Those requesting help should explain their circumstances--if you are asking for cash donations, what do you need it for? There may be a better way to solve your problem than with cash. I think everyone would feel better giving and receiving direct aid than giving/receiving cash. This should also help cut down on scammers. Money is not off of the table, but our goal is to help the most people possible, not to give a small fortune to a few people.

• We want to create IRL social networks--what family used to be for everyone--that can get together locally as cooking clubs or to make bulk purchases. Maybe we could even band together and buy group health insurance?

• We can encourage our our city subreddits to share and share alike.

• We should encourage bartering, even when the things or services exchanged are of unequal value. This sort of gift economy will keep aid from being a one-sided transaction. The people who get the most material benefit won't feel so much like they are getting a handout. We can encourage people to help others if they can't make a direct exchange.

• We can maintain info on the sidebar about how to access existing social services--be they government or from an NGO.

If you are interested, join us at r/MutualAid