Community Partners
Everyone loves cleaner parks. But our greatest impact is delivered through The Neighborhood Hands Community: a growing collection of nonprofit, private, and public sector partners who together provide efficient, convenient, and comfortable access to essential resources, services, and social capital for unhoused and very low-income neighbors. (Why is social capital important? Read here.)
The United Effort Organization - MyConnectSV Enrollment
The United Effort Organization's Peer Support Specialists enroll unsheltered people in the housing (HMIS) system's new customer support portal, MyConnectSV. This allows those in the system to access their profile and standing in real time, securely upload documents, and connect with customer support at every stage until housing is secured!
Downtown Streets Team - Transitional Employment and Case Management
Our no-barrier homeless outreach program provides step one for those seeking a path back to long-term employment. Through our partners at Downtown Streets Team -- who provide steps two and three via transitional employment and case management services -- participants have another path to exit homelessness.
Labor Max - Transitional Employment
Labor Max is a construction-focused staffing agency that provides short-term contracts and PPE for people experiencing unemployment and joblessness. Their ultimate goal is to connect individuals with union jobs, and we are very grateful to have them join our party-in-the-park on a regular basis!
Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen - 112 Packaged Meals and Bottled Water
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 112 packaged meals and cases of water to our program every single program.
Open Doors To Future Possibilities - Mental Health Consulting and Bomba Socks
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 - Free Bikes and Repairs
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, and More
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. Our "party-in-the-park" simply would not be the same without them!
Project WeHope's Dignity On Wheels - Mobile Showers
Joining us every program as of August 2024, WeHope's Dignity On Wheels provides mobile showers for participants.
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 many participants.
Santa Clara County Family Health Plan - Medicare & Medi-Cal Enrollment
Joining us for the first time in November 2024, we are thrilled to have SCFHP help enroll our participants in Medi-Cal and Medicare.
Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services - Harm ReduQion Project
This Santa Clara County partner provides harm reduction services for people experiencing substance use disorder, including free narcan, naloxone, training on how to use it, and more.
American Assistance - Free Phones and 4G Service
American Assistance provides a literal lifeline in the form of free phones and 4G service (through AT&T) for anyone on government benefits! (Why is this so important? If someone has lost or can't afford a phone and service, they can't be processed in Santa Clara County's housing system. Lacking a phone and service is a very real barrier to housing and employment!)
Unhoused Response Group (URG) - Clothing, Books, Hygiene, and More
Unhoused Response Group provides a plethora of clothing, reading materials, batteries, hygiene related supplies (including a mobile shaving station!) and other essentials, as well as top-tier advocacy for those who want it.
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 available to anyone who wants it. (NOTE: It is never forced on anyone.)
Life Rescue Ministries - Assortment of Essential Donations
Joining us on the first Saturday of the month as schedules allow, Life Rescue Ministries brings an assortment of essential donations, including blankets, food, coffee, clothing, and much 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.
DJ Toon-in - Live DJ Music
Joining us monthly, DJ Toon-In (a.k.a. Yari) makes our party-in-the-park come ALIVE with her bumping beats! No one gets the Neighborhood Hands Community dancing and vibing like DJ Toon-in!
White Cap - Pallets of Bottled Water
If you're unsheltered, you don't have easy access to fresh drinking water. So White Cap has stepped up and now donates pallets of bottled water so our unhoused volunteers can take bottles to-go after the program.
Noah's NY Bagels - 200 Bagels
Instead of throwing away what's left at the end of the day on Friday, we happily re-route Noah's leftovers straight to the park on Saturday morning!
Starbucks - Coffee
The generous folks at the Starbucks at 695 Coleman Ave. provide 130 free coffees every program. For this we are very grateful!
Target - Health & Safety Supplies
The Target at 533 Coleman Ave. provides first aid and other health and safety supplies for our Information Canopy so folks can be attended to as needed. Because hey, scrapes are occasionally part of getting one's hands' dirty!
Adopt-A-Park and Home Depot - Tools and Resource Fair Infrastructure
We can't clean the park without park tools! Big thanks to the City of San Jose's Adopt-A-Park Program and Home Depot for providing everything from shovels to rakes to tables and more.
City of San Jose's Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services Department, Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, & Bills Brush Works - Operations Support
We owe a special thanks to the City of San Jose's Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services Department (PRNS), Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, and Bills Brush Works, who provide operations support every program.
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, we clear an estimated 22,000 lbs of park debris and trash from Guadalupe Gardens and surrounding areas! Don't believe us? Come see for yourself!!
