It's a wonderful question, thank you for asking! And it's something I could probably write a whole post on (maybe I will). As far as 1-1 support goes, yes you'd want to have a relationship built first before offering your help. If you do already know neighbors with kids, two things I would have found supremely helpful when my husband and I were on different schedules and I was often with my baby and toddler alone:

1. If you’re running to a pharmacy or corner store, text and ask if they need anything. Something as simple as buying milk or diapers becomes quite onerous when you have to strap two littles in carseats, unstrap ‘em, put one in a stroller or Ergo while firmly clutching the toddler’s hand to prevent them from fulfilling their death wish, mitigate an in-store toddler meltdown, then strap ‘em in the car again to get home.

2. Offering not babysitting services but a willingness to keep an eye on the kids if there’s an errand a parent needs to run or if, God forbid, they just want 20 minutes to take a walk by themselves. I’ll admit I don’t really like babysitting other people’s kids, but 20-30 minutes is certainly doable and can be a lifesaver sometimes.

All that said, I think the single most important thing you can contribute is making an effort to build community. Maybe you don’t want to babysit, but someone down the street does. Organizing a block party, potluck, or regular gathering to help neighbors get to know each other and lay the groundwork for creating a mutual aid network would be phenomenal. If mothers these days want a proverbial village, they essentially have to build it and that’s just one more thing to do. I actually joined a church, even though I’m not religious, in a desperate attempt to find a “village.” (It was incredibly helpful until my kids started paying attention to service and asking me too many questions about Jesus. I ultimately felt like an imposter and had to leave.)

I’m sure more thoughts will occur to me, but if I ever do write a whole story on this, I’ll let you know. Thanks for reading and engaging!