Neighborhood Hands

277 total neighbors participated in another *record-breaking program* for the Neighborhood Hands Community on Nov. 2! A big thanks to San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and Devcon Construction for joining our ever-growing "party-in-the-park," and cleaning Guadalupe Gardens alongside 195 neighbors experiencing homelessness and economic insecurity. We believe it takes ALL neighbors to turn the tide on this humanitarian crisis. To everyone who supports our humble efforts to mobilize the neighborhood, break down class barriers, and connect via the community beautifying activity of cleaning parks: THANK YOU. Learn more about our work: https://lnkd.in/g43Tf9Qd Photo credit: Neal Waters / SOSKI photo

Big thanks to Christie's International Real Estate's 1% For Good Foundation for awarding us their 2024 Equity & Access grant! The investment in our program and community is greatly appreciated!

This #givingtuesday, we're grateful for Silicon Valley Business Journal and Neal Waters for providing a platform for our Executive Director, Brian Powers, to explain why our innovative "party-in-the-park" homeless outreach and park cleaning model is attracting SO MANY NEIGHBORS to Guadalupe Gardens. From all of us at NH, thank you for considering our work this giving season! DONATE: https://lnkd.in/ehy7DfTV https://lnkd.in/eAqqeMTb

This holiday season, I'm raising funds to support Neighborhood Hands, a nonprofit organization in San Jose connecting unhoused people with the neighborhood by offering dignified, no-barrier-to-entry opportunities for positive social connection and support while beautifying public spaces. At my last visit to Neighborhood Hands' "party-in-the-park" (which takes place every other Saturday morning at Guadalupe Gardens), I was so moved by how many unhoused participants (over 200+ in attendance) came up to me to express their gratitude for the program. One man told me, "Just knowing there are people in our community who think about us, about how to help us, and who want to actually meet us, gives me hope and strength for finding my way out of my current situation." With all the barriers our unhoused neighbors face in finding their paths out of homelessness, time and again I've seen that the very first step is doing what we can to remind them that they are not forgotten, that there are resources available, and that we SEE them - and want to help them to find the future they dream of. Please join me in supporting this compassionate work. Thank you, my friends. https://lnkd.in/gvBtq7SB

During this week of thanks, we at Neighborhood Hands are grateful for so much (including but not limited to): *All of our incredible volunteers (unhoused and housed) who make the Neighborhood Hands program and community what it is; *Everyone who joined our 200th program celebration in July; *Dallas’s endless jokes; *Our extremely generous donors for their investment in a more beautiful, connected, and vibrant San Jose community; *Our new Director of Development, Kama Fletcher; *The very kind park skunk that (miraculously) didn’t spray after our volunteers stumbled upon it! *All of our parks friends at PRNS, Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, SPU, Adopt-A-Park, and BeautifySJ; *Our beloved Founder, Bill Sullivan; *Anne McMahon for her exquisitely designed park signage; *Everyone who attends our pre-program Friday and Monday debrief meetings; *The O’Meara’s, Weed's, Stewart's, and Katcher's for their incredible commitment, guidance, and investment in Neighborhood Hands since the very beginning; *London, for his never-ending smile that continues to shine down on us from above; *Vibes & Smiles for the amazing partnership, energy, in-kind contributions, and commitment to our community; *Luis Palacios and Luis Sandoval for managing the trucks and 100+ volunteers in the field every program (and continually inspiring us every step of the way!)! *All the Matadors who unload and reload our crazy 3-ring circus every program (rain or shine); *Shawn Dean and Jim Shydlowski for attending SO MANY ZOOM MEETINGS and almost always being the first to arrive and last to leave on Saturday AM’s; *All of the Laurie’s / Lori’s!! *Team Jesus and their other-worldly rice pudding; *Our beloved and stellar parking lot attendant, Cory! *Andrew and Lionel for their wonderful management of the bike corral; *Noah’s NY Bagels and Paul Milioto for the top-tier bagels every program; *Sister Maria, Sister Gracie, Rob Katcher, and Starbucks for caffeinating our community; *Mayor Matt for joining us not once, but twice! *Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen for 112 meals every program; *White Cap for their endless cases of water and South Bay Grading for the tireless promotion of our program! *Carlos Aguila and Open Doors to Future Possibilities for being great listeners; *Maria Jaime for her amazing translation skills; *Lisa and all the folks at Good Karma Bikes for the good karma AND bikes! *Leesa Lovelace for being truly outstanding in every way; *Shaunn Cartwright and Unhoused Response Group for the valiant advocacy, shaving station, and so much more; *Downtown Streets Team for their warmth, professionalism, transitional employment opportunities, and case management; *Jose Morales for bringing support and calm to the Information Canopy; ...AND SO MANY MORE who LinkedIn's character limit is forcing us to link to here -->> https://lnkd.in/ethQ-dzw HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO OUR BELOVED NEIGHBORHOOD HANDS COMMUNITY!

Thank you for joining us, Devcon! Come visit us anytime.

We are over the moon to announce Kama Fletcher as our new Director of Development! Kama brings decades of nonprofit management and fundraising experience to our humble startup, and we simply couldn't be more thrilled that she's chosen us for the next stage of her journey! (Our feelings are perfectly summed up by Elisa-Marie Dumas' comment on Kama's post: "Well they just won the lottery with [Kama] joining the team!")

POV from this past Saturday from our esteemed partners Vibes and Smiles Inc. ! We broke attendance records once again with 271 total neighbors coming to our work “party-in-the-park” at Guadalupe Gardens. Why is our innovative (and extremely cost effective!!) homeless outreach model such a hit? Because we humans are social animals. Plain and simple. We NEED positive community to thrive — whether we live in a tent or mansion. Not convinced? Come out to the park and you’ll get it, we promise. https://lnkd.in/d3CYXCZx #neighborhoodhandscommunity #vibesandsmiles #homelessoutreach #californiahomelesscrisis #newmodel #socialinnovation #community #communitybuilding #communityovercompetition

“Neighborliness” — a timeless happiness virtue that applies to ALL neighbors, regardless of housing status!

We at Neighborhood Hands are very excited to see City of San José fund a new TRUST team! This will ensure the most qualified and relevantly trained crisis responders — behavioral health professionals — are the ones engaging with neighbors during moments of extreme vulnerability. This would not have been possible without the effort of Silicon Valley DeBug, Race Equity and Community Safety, SURJ Santa Clara County, and many others. To all who made it happen, our hat is off to you! Learn more about the TRUST program: https://lnkd.in/ehBkvJA9 Read the full article The Mercury News: https://lnkd.in/eCiqtyZe