Community Partners
Everyone loves cleaner parks. But our greatest value is delivered through The Neighborhood Hands Community: a growing collection of nonprofit, private, and public sector partners who together provide efficient and comfortable access to essential resources, services, and social capital for our unhoused and low-income participants. (Why is social capital important? Read here.)
City of San Jose's Cash4Trash Program - Mastercard Debits
BeautifySJ's Cash4Trash program provides pre-loaded debit cards (with minimal spending restrictions on items like alcohol and tobacco) from Mastercard as part of stipends participants at our program.
Santa Clara County Public Defender Office - Legal Services
Santa Clara County PDO provides legal services (including on-site expungement!) which remove barriers to housing and long-term employment for our participants.
Downtown Streets Team - Transitional Employment and Case Management
Through our innovative homeless outreach model, our no-barrier volunteer program provides an entry point (or step one) for those seeking a path back to long-term employment (the case for many of our participants). Through our partners at Downtown Streets Team -- who provide steps two and three via transitional employment and case management services -- our participants have another path to exit homelessness.
Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen - 150 Packaged Meals and Bottled Water
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To face the enormous mountain that is climbing out of homelessness, one first needs energy. Enter the incredible Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen. This inimitable nonprofit partner delivers 150 packaged meals and cases of water to our program every single program.
Open Doors To Future Possibilities - Mental Health Consulting
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Open Doors to Future Possibilities offers mental health consulting at every program. Through consistency, listening, and relationship formation, they build trust and rapport with residents whose experiences on the streets often leave them with trauma and other mental health challenges that should not be faced alone.
Good Karma Bikes - Bike Repairs
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Access to transportation is the single biggest factor helping people hold a job, keep appointments, and in many cases, avoid homelessness. So Good Karma Bikes (GKB) provides free bike repairs (and occasionally, free bikes!) to our neighbors every program.
Left photo below: Joe recently brought GKB a bike that was too far gone to save, so they hooked him up with a Specialized Rockhopper!
Right photo below: Richard recently had a Cannondale with a broken derailleur hanger, so GKB granted him a refurbished Specialized Hardrock! If Joe and Richard hadn't met GKB at our party-in-the-park, they likely wouldn't have a cost-effective way to start traversing their respective paths to stable living.
Left photo below: Joe recently brought GKB a bike that was too far gone to save, so they hooked him up with a Specialized Rockhopper!
Right photo below: Richard recently had a Cannondale with a broken derailleur hanger, so GKB granted him a refurbished Specialized Hardrock! If Joe and Richard hadn't met GKB at our party-in-the-park, they likely wouldn't have a cost-effective way to start traversing their respective paths to stable living.
Vibes & Smiles - Clothes, Hygiene Packs, Dental Products, Music
Vibes & Smiles provides a plethora of clothes (including suits from Indochino!), hygiene packs, feminine hygiene and dental products, snacks, and loads of positive energy every program.
Team Jesus - Light Breakfast, Coffee and Spirituality
Regulars at Neighborhood Hands since early 2020, Team Jesus is a staple at our program. Their light breakfast is legendary and spirituality second to none!
Unhoused Response Group (URG) - Clothing, Books, Batteries, and More
A recent addition to our resource fair, URG provides a plethora of clothing, reading materials, batteries, and other essentials for which we are very grateful.
Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services - Harm ReduQion Project
This monthly partner provides harm reduction services for people experiencing substance use disorder, including free narcan, naloxone, training on how to use it, and more.
Tone Yao Lee Homeless Project - Assortment of Essential Donations
Joining us quarterly, the Tone Yao Lee Homeless Project provides youthful energy and an assortment of essential donations, including sleeping bags, care packages (hygiene supplies, tampons, socks, underwear, nonperishable foods, etc.), shoes, and clothing.
Park Impact
While we are unabashedly a people first organization, our community takes great pride in restoring unmaintained parks and surrounding areas. See below for a few before, during, and after pictures from recent program dates at Guadalupe Gardens.
On a typical Saturday at our new location, we clear an estimated 6500 lbs of fire hazardous debris and trash from Guadalupe Gardens and surrounding areas, something the City of San Jose's Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services Department can't manage due to budget cuts. As of November 2023, we have cleared an estimated 620,000+ lbs of park waste around Columbus Park and Guadalupe Gardens.
A special thanks to Swenson Builders, Laine Equipment Rentals, and Bill's Brush Works, who provide operations support every program! And we can't forget BeautifySJ, Adopt-A-Park, Home Depot, and Target, who also provide tools and other park supplies!
A special thanks to Swenson Builders, Laine Equipment Rentals, and Bill's Brush Works, who provide operations support every program! And we can't forget BeautifySJ, Adopt-A-Park, Home Depot, and Target, who also provide tools and other park supplies!