ABSTRACT
People who give each other mutual aid have a shared identity. They form a group on the basis of what they have in common, such as the same occupation, the same ethnic group, residence in the same neighborhood, or the same problem. Mutual insurance is probably the oldest form of mutual aid. Independently of the guilds and parish fraternities, poor people in England in the eighteenth century formed mutual aid societies known as friendly societies. Community action acquired the connotation of mutual aid after a time, but it did not have it when the concept was first introduced. Self-help groups are: voluntary, small group structures for mutual aid and the accomplishment of a special purpose. They are usually formed by peers who have come together for mutual assistance in satisfying a common need, overcoming a common handicap or life-disrupting problem, and bringing about desired social and/or personal change.
