Abortion may be protected in Michigan, but protection has never guaranteed access. For many people across the state, getting care is shaped by cost, distance, clinic closures, stigma, and the everyday logistics of survival. A legal right means very little if you cannot afford the appointment, take time off work, find childcare, travel hours to a clinic, or get clear information about your options. That gap between what is legal and what is actually possible is where Hydra Mutual Aid Fund began.
In the aftermath of the fall of Roe v. Wade, a group of Detroit-based activists with years of reproductive justice organizing under our belts took a hard look at abortion access in Michigan and knew we wanted to root our work in our home state. We understood that people needed support right away, and that we did not have to wait for funding, permission, or institutions to catch up before taking action. Guided by the principles of mutual aid, we set out to build a system that could meet our neighbors’ immediate needs using the skills, relationships, and resources we already had. Hydra Fund was born from that decision and from a commitment to building the world we want now, with care shaped by community instead of scarcity.
Our name reflects our politics. The Hydra represents resilience, regeneration, and collective power. When one head is cut off, more rise in its place. For us, that image speaks to the reality of movement work: barriers will keep coming, attacks will keep coming, and still our communities will continue to respond, rebuild, and fight for each other. Hydra Fund is rooted in the belief that we are stronger when we act together, and that no setback can end a struggle sustained by collective care.
Since our founding in 2022, we have helped hundreds of people across Michigan access abortion care and trained dozens more in community-based reproductive justice support. What began as an urgent response to gaps in access has grown into a broader ecosystem of care: an abortion doula support network, a helpline open seven days a week, a reproductive healthcare supply distribution network, and public education efforts designed to reach people too often left out of traditional systems. We have also expanded awareness of medication abortion access through direct outreach, including a campaign that sent more than 10,000 postcards across the Upper Peninsula with information about abortion pills by mail.
One important part of that work is telehealth abortion access. Through our partners, Hydra Fund can connect anyone in need to free telehealth abortion coverage, making it possible to receive abortion pills by mail without cost or distance standing in the way. But access is about more than covering the cost of care. Through our Abortion Accompaniment Program, we make sure people do not have to navigate abortion alone. We provide support by phone, text, email, and in person so people can move through the process with information, dignity, and care. Whether someone is seeking in-clinic care or managing an abortion with medication at home, we offer practical, emotional, and logistical support every step of the way.
Our Sexual Healthcare Resource Initiative extends that same commitment to practical, community-based care. By distributing condoms, pregnancy tests, Plan B, and other reproductive health supplies through partners across the state, we work to remove barriers before people reach a point of crisis. We also include abortion information in these kits, so people have the resources they need to make informed decisions about their options before they are navigating urgency. These free resources, which we call “battle rations,” are part of a broader vision of reproductive autonomy, harm reduction, and community care. By building committed relationships with partner locations across the state, we work to keep these sites stocked so people can count on these resources being available.
We also know that long-term access cannot depend on a single organization. Through our Community Education Program, we work to build a decentralized network of care across Michigan by sharing accurate, evidence-based information about abortion options and helping people develop the skills to support one another. Through workshops, trainings, and resource distribution, we help communities learn how to navigate different paths to care, support someone through an abortion, and think proactively about access, including having abortion pills on hand just in case. Our goal is simple: no matter who you are or where you live, you should be able to find someone local who can help you understand your options and stand with you throughout the process.
The world we need will not be handed to us by courts, institutions, or political promises alone. We have to build it with each other, in real time, with courage, trust, and care. That is what Hydra Fund is here to do: to make sure abortion access is not left to chance, but rooted in community, shared knowledge and collective responsibility. We believe a different future is possible, one where no one is left to figure it out alone, and we are committed to building that future now.
Need support? Visit https://hydra-fund.org/
