People’s Clinic

Through the pandemic and beyond, we've witnessed the urgent need for healing spaces rooted in collective care. People’s Clinics, invites us to pause, come back to one another, and reimagine how we give and receive care, especially in social movement spaces where burnout, disconnection, and urgency often take hold. 

Seed packet titled 'Offers & Needs Market' featuring yellow flowers with green leaves, mentioning 250 seeds, heirloom, non-GMO, perennial, medicinal, and culinary uses.

In our inaugural clinic, we focused on Needs and Offers. Using the Offers and Needs Market (OANM) model from the Post Growth Institute, we invited artists, organizers, and community members in for deeper relationship-building, resource-sharing, and community accountability. 

We invite you to join us in this transformative work. This version of our People’s Clinic provides a structor to jump start mutual aid practice in any network. Let us know if you want to host an Offers and Needs Market with support from MAH.

  • Handwritten sign on a white paper taped to a green metal sign, offering and requesting items for a mutual aid market in Hartford.
  • A group of diverse people sitting at round tables in a well-lit room with large windows, engaged in conversation during a social or professional event.
  • A man with glasses, a beard, and a pink patterned shirt is holding a name tag that says "JASN" while giving a presentation. In the background, a screen displays a presentation slide titled "The Offers Market" with a 10-minute countdown timer showing 0:00.
  • A group of people sitting at a table, engaged in an activity. The focus is on a woman with dark hair wearing earrings and a striped shirt, and a young man with blond hair in a green shirt with a nametag that reads 'Connor 4'. There are papers, a pen, a smartphone, and small objects on the table. Other people can be seen in the background.
  • A person holding a takeout container with rice, black beans, and a tamale, at a meal service or buffet.
  • A person wearing a blue shirt, a smartwatch, and a beaded bracelet is signing a small card with a purple pen. The card has handwritten text. There are sheets of paper on a black table in front of them.
  • A young man with dark hair and a beard, wearing a black shirt and a yellow bracelet, is sitting at a table during a meeting or presentation, holding a pen and speaking to someone. In the background, another man with glasses and a beard is standing near a large screen.
  • People facing a wall with a large 'NEEDS' sign and multiple notes or cards with handwritten information.
  • A woman with dark, wavy hair and a nose ring sitting indoors with her hands near her face, smiling slightly.
  • A woman with long dark hair, wearing a white lace top and a name tag that reads "Chelsea," is sitting at a table during a meeting or discussion. She is talking and gesturing with her right hand, while other people are partially visible around her. The table has notebooks, papers, water bottles, and a coffee cup.

From the Post Growth Institute OANM website: Offers & Needs Markets are designed to identify and exchange passions, knowledge, skills, resources, opportunities, and needs. From finding a place to live, to sharing a recipe or professional service, the opportunities are endless at an Offers and Needs Market!

“I love the Offers and Needs Market because it taps into the oldest structures by which people exchange goods, services, care, and food. Now more than ever, we need collective strategies to engage in a collaborative economy.”

– adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute