It’s January 10th, 2026, the morning of our Mutual Aid distribution event, and it’s cold and windy outside of the Davenport Public Library. My fellow DSA members and I prepare the items we have spent the last few weeks fundraising and shopping for: coats, sweaters, socks, blankets, bus passes, boxes of food and hygiene items, and entertainment. Groups of unhoused people gather to wait in the biting wind while we scramble to get everything organized and displayed, some of them understandably on edge upon seeing items they needed that were limited in stock and therefore not guaranteed to go to them. More than once, an entire rack of coats gets blown onto the damp ground, and after struggling to find our tarp, we had to improvise, at one point using our own QCDSA banner to display some of the clothes so that the people receiving the goods could get clean and dry items. Some of the organizers cannot come due to illness and other circumstances, and some show up despite sub-optimal health just to get the event off the ground.

And yet, as the day goes on, the energy is surprisingly relaxed. Jovial, even. Over the next two hours, friendly conversation can be heard among DSA members and the unhoused comrades alike, old friends and acquaintances reuniting. Heather greets everyone upon arrival, asking their name and current home city as she assigns them numbers on post-its, a first-come-first-served system we employ to avoid confusion and maintain fairness. JJ pours people cups of hot chocolate and cup noodles, taking care to learn and use everyone’s names and asking them about their life. Other members hold the racks of coats steady, organize clothing by size and gender, and display hygiene items for easy access. As people start picking through items they need, Heather shows me the homemade coloring books she put together before they are all taken. The pages full of vibrant images are put together in neat folders and carry uplifting messages. Besides the coloring books, we have copies of our zine and stickers providing education about us as an organization, which come in handy as multiple people ask how they can get a hold of us to give back when they are in a position to do so. Several express frankly that these events save lives.

As people pick through the items, taking some for themselves and for loved ones, sharing smiles and conversation, I feel warmed at what our community can do to help ourselves through difficult circumstances. Although there is joy in this revelation, there is also anger. Anger that the systems that be, far from normalizing this kind of collective action, actively exploit the working class and create the circumstances that lead to homelessness. Anger that, as good as it feels to have avenues of direct action, these events do not and cannot solve the issue of homelessness in the Quad Cities. I am angry, but anger, like joy, is energizing. For me, that energy is going straight back into organizing with the DSA. We cannot undo the ills of capitalism with any singular event or strategy, but working with my comrades on the Mutual Aid Distribution this month was a spot of light that will help me carry on another day.

If you want to get involved in our mutual aid efforts, you can start by joining the Mutual Aid Working Group meeting over Zoom on March 4th at 6PM.