At the first two informal demonstrations in January 2021, several of the Tower District's unhoused residents stopped on the corner of Olive and Wishon asking if anyone had anything to eat, for some water, or for some other small item. After a few weeks of walking to the Dollar Tree to meet their needs, a group of regular demonstrators decided to get organized.

They began pooling their money for supplies and bulk purchases of food items. Then they met one evening a week to assemble bags of lunches, waters, and snacks to hand out from our hospitality table each week. As summer came along those bags grew to include things like sunblock, masks, hand sanitizer, fresh socks, lotions, and other regular needs for our unhoused residents. In November, a shoe and sock drive provided over a dozen pairs of waterproof shoes, supplies of extra warm socks, knit gloves, hats, and blankets for our houseless neighbors.

Over nearly a year, our volunteers still make and distribute about a dozen meals each week and do their best to provide other needs to the most vulnerable in our neighborhood. As one volunteer said recently, "This isn't our primary cause and we're not going to solve the crisis. But we saw a person in our neighborhood who needed help, so we're meeting the need right in front of us."

If you'd like to donate food items or supplies to our Houseless Outreach project, please contact us at towerdemonstrations@gmail.com. Donations can be made via the button below.