ABSTRACT
This chapter explores one of the fastest-growing forms of community-based social support networks – mutual aid groups (MAGs) led and run by people with direct lived experience of the same health or social situations. We illuminate three unique forms of reciprocal relations: the process of the ‘sharing circle’, in which peers share their experiences and listen to those of their peers; the organisational aspects of the sharing circle; and the network of specialised relationships that evolve around the sharing circle. We conclude with the learning from this form of reciprocity and collective citizen agency.
