One of our ongoing projects is the Iowa Queer Prisoner Correspondance Program (IQPCP), which you can read about on our projects page.
An active member if IQPCP is transitioning out of prison and is in need of necessary items and aid. Donate and pick "IQPCP" from the dropdown.
The prison industrial complex is a violent state entity that has no place in our community or world. Built on racism, classism, and colonialism, the carceral system harms individuals every day. Upon release you leave mostly with nothing, sometimes made to be homeless, jobless, and sent out into a world that may be completely new and unknown. Having your needs met upon release can drastically make a difference and make the transition much easier. Help out if you can! Fire to all prisons.
A community member needs help with medical bills and ongoing medical care costs! Cash App: $TaylorMiller84
a capitalist will never have to worry that an ambulance ride or an ER visit could put them in debt — their livelihood isn't predicated on being able-bodied enough to work. but with major cuts to medicaid, many more working people will have to weigh their need for healthcare against the cost of pricey hospital bills and lost wages.
in our june newsletter, we published an article about iowa's ban on medicaid coverage for gender affirming care. if you are trans and need help with transition-related expenses, you can apply to iowa trans mutual aid fund. applications for this month close on august 10.
donate if you're able and share!
A community member needs help making rent amidst ongoing medical and travel expenses. PayPal: @AprilRain, Venmo: @April-Lefever-1
capitalism is such that people experiencing financial hardship are often dealing with multiple ongoing crises at once, each with it's own price tag. as medical expenses build, keeping up with regular bills becomes harder and harder. eventually, people get buried in debt and digging out is difficult if not impossible. the only way to fix this is to abolish capitalism. in the meantime, we have to share whatever resources we have — monetary or otherwise — to keep our neighbors alive. donate and share!
A community member needs help with rent! Goal: $1,058, CashApp: $kendolly7
fuck every landlord now and forever. housing is a survival necessity, not a commodity to be bought and sold. yet, under capitalism, we are required to sell our labor for a pittance of the value that labor generates, just so that we can afford a roof and four walls. and if you can't work, you can't live. this system is incompatible with our survival, let alone our ability to flourish. you know the drill, donate if you can and share!
Immigrant families are being ripped apart by simply showing up at their immigration appointments. Nelson's lawyer and family fear that at his upcoming appointment in August, he will be unlawfully detained and separated from both his daughter and American girlfriend, who Izys now knows as her mother. If Nelson is detained, he may be sent back to Venezuela, where he could be immediately abused by the government once more for his time as a political protestor.
Every step of the immigration process costs a significant amoutn of money, functionally shutting poor immigrants out. The criminalization of immigrants goes hand-in-hand with the criminalization of poor people — if you can't cough up enough money to life here, you will be deported, relegated to the street, or indefinitely incarcerated. Abolish capitalism, abolish prisons, abolish borders. Donate if you're able and share!
The July issue is here and it's twice as long! In this issue:
- Torture: a look inside solitary confinement
- Heat stroke will not kill your landlord
- Double the poetry: Introducing B.C. The Black Clown
- An anarchist answers
- Rod Sullivan's quest to cage children
- "Burn" by Jenny Wren, 2025
Read the issue here, or pick up a physical copy at the Iowa City Public Library, Prairie Lights Cafe, Kitty Corner Social Club, FilmScene Chauncy, or Kindred Coffee. Download the file, print your own copies, and distribute it far and wide!
A community member needs $531 to turn her energy back on. CashApp: $bagrainny
Capitalism makes us live in unsurvivable conditions where we can't have the food and the medicine we need. The corporate hold on electricity and turning off power has led to a community member's food rotting and the inability to keep insulin cold for their child. Give what you can and share wildly!
UIHC will not put Mika on their transplant list, forcing her to travel out of state for a life-saving kidney transplant. Please donate and share!
Pascual Pedro Pedro of West Liberty was deported to Guatemala on July 7th with no lawyer and no due process, just 5 days after he was detained by ICE at a routine immigration check-in. It is clear that the rule of "law" and the concept of "due process" mean nothing. ICE is a vicious arm of the state hell-bent on terrorizing us and destroying the fabric of our communities. We must do more than simply fundraise and hold vigils after one of our own has been kidnapped - we must get organized to respond rapidly and preemptively. We must work together to keep our communities intact and kick ICE and their collaborators the fuck out.
Angel is dealing with some health issues and currently needs help with a rent payment. Support Angel's recovery. Donate and share!
A community member is behind on bills and needs help catching up to avoid late fees and penalties
Venmo: @Landon3393
CashApp: $Landon3393
A trans households' rent was suddenly raised and they need to pay a security deposit by next week. Goal: $800, venmo: @toriren
We're debuting this month's newsletter at Pokey's Fest this weekend! Get to the gig at Wright House of Fashion tonight, 6/13, or come rock tomorrow. They'll be out at the usual places after the fest.
In this issue:
- Iowa bans Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care: what can we do?
- Sheriff Brad Kunkle wants to sell you a bigger jail: don't buy it!
- No cops at pride, no pride in genocide. Free Palestine!
And as always:
Dropped a few bags of cherries to the ic community fridge today, 6/13.
A community member got hit with a bug surgery bill, please donate and share! Venmo: @Dani-Misyuk
A community member is currently without housing and needs help covering the rent for a summer sublease! Goal: $500, CashApp: $danielapm0
Help a community member manage debt while trying to secure safer housing! Cash App: $4iuch1 Goal: $1,200
Have you heard? The IC Community Fridge is open! The food is always free, and the fridge is open 24/7 on the North side of Wright House of Fashion, 910 S. Gilbert St. The nearest bus stop is 7010 on Iowa City bus routes 1 and 13. Take what you need, leave what you can!
The ICMA community garden is also well underway, and we've already made one dropoff of rhubarb at the fridge. Right now we're growing potatoes, tomatoes, tomatillos, herbs, peppers, okra, onions, green onions, and the three sisters (corn, beans, and squash). Follow us on instagram for more garden updates throughout the season. If you'd like to volunteer to help in the garden (weeding, watering, harvesting, and planting), sign up here.
Better late than never, right? May's Mutual Aid Monthly is here. Inside:
- Reject petit bourgeois radicalism
- Three collages by Ben Minniear (@benminniearart)
- Poetry from prison
- The community fridge is open!
- And submit for a new advice column: Ask an Anarchist
Read the issue here. As always, you can pick up a physical copy at: ICPL, Kindred Coffee, Kitty Corner Social Club, FilmScene Chauncey, New Pioneer Co-op, and Prairie Lights Cafe.
A community member needs help with a utility bill. Goal: $600. Venmo: @maevearoni
Donate via cashapp: $ClyburnSuzanna
A community member needs help with survival needs and getting a used car to secure employment. Goal is $3,900. Donate via venmo @absentminded-professor-8.
5 international students at the University of Iowa have had their visas revoked. Help support their emergent needs by donating and specifying the funds for "COGS."
It is newsletter time!! This month is quite text heavy, lots of stuff to write about and not enough space!! Pick up a copy at PS1 Close House, FilmScene Chauncy, ICPL, Kitty Corner Social Club, Prairie Lights Cafe, New Pi Co-op, or Kindred Coffee. Read the issue here.
In this issue:
- Paying the Price: The futility of feudalism
- "General strike is now": Tips from an amateur organizer
- Poetry by Bobby Messier (aka Paws)
- Tax tables - information about changes in Iowa taxes that benefit high earners and not everyday working people
- As always Autonomy Iowa City - Supporting bodily autonomy right here in Iowa
- Plus: A coloring page by @softpunkk on instagram.
If you want to contribute art, writing, or something out-of-the-box, send it in to admin@icmutualaid.org.
We'll have a table at ICE CREAM (11-5 @ PS1 Close House) with pay-what-you-can art wares & fresh copies of the April newsletter. All proceeds from the table support ICMA. See you then!
A comrade needs help paying rent by APRIL 6! Goal is $500. Venmo: @natpayan
Mutual aid request for Jumi! She's struggling to pay for necessities due to medical racism and domestic violence. Donate to her Venmo @jumoke-bello or her Zelle using jumoke.adeola.bello@gmail.com.
Get involved with ICMA! Volunteer to court watch or help out with our community garden.
Our community garden furthers our efforts to meet people’s needs. Access to food, specifically produce, is often a luxury when it should be guaranteed. Our government continues to oppress people through restricted access to food. Volunteering to help out with the garden will involve planting, weeding, watering, fertilizing, harvesting, curing, and seed saving. If you do not know how to grow and process food this is a space to learn with your community! Learning these skills will help us feed our community on our own. Once the food is harvested and cleaned it will be given away for free to those who need it and have limited access to produce! Sign up here.
Court watching is when people from the public sit in courtrooms to observe what happens: bail hearings, arraignments, pleas, trials, and just the everyday court appearances that constitute the delay and violence of criminal court. Sometimes this looks like formal monitoring programs, composed of volunteers or organizational staff who sit in courtrooms regularly to document what happens and report to the public the results of their observations. And sometimes this looks like family, friends, and supporters filling courtrooms (often called “packing the court”) in support of a loved one who is being prosecuted. (from beyondcourts.org). Sign up here.
See you soon!
We have a new payment method with Zeffy, which, unlike PayPal, doesn't take fees from us. Plus, we can now accept recurring donations, which will be vital in sustaining our work. Set up a monthly donation — even just $5 — today!
Sorry we're a little late with this issue, the department of corrections makes communication hard! Pick up a physical copy at ICPL, Prairie Lights, Kitty Corner Social Club, or Film Scene Chauncey!
In this issue:
- Do it yourself — This is how we can survive this
- Capitalism Kills — The subversive punishments of the capitalist cash-cow
- Poetry
- And as always, Autonomy Iowa City — Supporting bodily autonomy right here in Iowa
Plus, a special insert this month (don't get used to it) on:
- Surveillance — Fuck that!
- Big University is watching you
Read the issue here, and sign up for our mailing list
Sunday, March 23rd | 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm | In person, in Iowa City (Location will be announced to registrants via email before the event) KN95 masks required to attend.
Doulas are non-medical professionals who provide informational, emotional, and physical support to people going through a significant health related experience such as childbirth, miscarriage, abortion, infant loss, reproductive care, and non-reproductive experiences such as dying and gender transition. In this interactive workshop, participants will learn the skills necessary to provide abortion doula support in an era where reproductive rights are limited. This workshop will be facilitated by experienced doulas and medical professionals.
Register here. Registration will be capped at 50.
We've been fielding requests for rent assistance, but we need funds to support that.
The below resources provide rent assistance to people in Iowa City but are limited by regulations and requirements that exclude people who need help.
ICMA exists to provide support to people who need it with no barriers to access. Please donate and share our donation information with people you know!
A couple of ICMA members will have a table with zines, art, and other miscellaneous wares at the Iowa City Flea on Sunday, Februrary 23. Event runs from 1-5 p.m. at The Englert (221 E Washington). Items will be free or pay what you can, with all proceeds going to ICMA. See you there!
Check out this month's IC Mutual Aid Monthly here. Want a copy sent to your inbox? Sign up here.
Pick up a physical copy from the Iowa City Public Library, Kindred Coffee, Prairie Lights Cafe, Kitty Corner Social Club, or FilmScene at The Chauncey.
A winter storm has hit and it's cold out there for folks living outside. Since last year, there's been an increase of people living outside and in cars. It costs $25 dollars to refill a 20 gallon propane tank which on cold nights can dwindle quickly. Donate if you can! (and put "camp aid" as the description on paypal)
Check out the first issue of Iowa City Mutual Aid Monthly here! Pick up a physical copy from the Iowa City Public Library, Kindred Coffee, Prairie Lights Cafe, or FilmScene at The Chauncey.
Sign up for our mailing list here.
Join us TODAY (1/11) AT 4 P.M. at PS1 Cloud House (538 S. Gilbert, next to the mansion) for a screening of Under the Bridge: The Criminalization of Homelessness. Following the movie we'll have an informal discussion while we assemble winter kits for our homeless neighbors. The event is free.
Bring a cash donation to help with supplies if you can.
Masks are provided and required. We will also have HEPA air purifiers.