Do you help lead programming or material support efforts with OHI (especially ones where homeless participants travel to attend)? Join our discussion to meet other volunteers doing similar work, learn from each other, and strategize together. RSVP below.

This month, we’ll be talking about transportation! Particularly for neighbors experiencing homelessness, sometimes the biggest barrier to participating in a program isn’t the program itself—it’s getting there.

We’ll strategize together about:

• Transportation barriers we’ve observed

• What support volunteers can provide

• Practical next steps for reducing barriers to participation

NOTE: While all are welcome to join, this meeting is intended for OHI members who are already involved in programming or material support activities and want to strategize about it together. If you’re looking to get involved in activities for the first time, check out our events page.

Join us for our monthly Housing Justice is Racial Justice meeting. This month’s topic: debunking myths about homelessness!

We’ll be discussing a few pages from Mary Brosnahan’s They Just Need to Get a Job: 15 Myths on Homelessness. (No need to get the book—we’ll send you the pages!) For this discussion, we’ll focus on the myth that there’s already a lot of help out there that folks experiencing homelessness just aren’t accessing.

This is an informal reading and discussion group for OHI members to learn together about the intersections of housing justice and racial justice and the roots of the housing and homelessness crisis in policies driven by systemic racism. It's a "101" type of space to learn and grow together, so no expertise is required (in fact, it’s geared towards folks who may not know much about these topics!) and is open to all OHI members. Each meeting focuses on a different “text” chosen by an OHI member that will serve as a jumping-off point for discussion. (Want to choose a text and help facilitate a meeting in the future? Reach out to Will at will@openheartsinitiative.org.)

If you're interested in joining, click the button below to RSVP, and we’ll share the reading and Zoom details.

Building stronger neighborhoods starts with getting to know each other! Join Midtown Open Hearts for an informal hangout bringing together housed neighbors & neighbors living in supportive housing.

We’ll have coffee, snacks, games, and conversation!

Drop by on Thursday, June 25 between 4pm and 6pm at The Anagram Public Plaza (on the north side of E. 28th St, between Madison Ave and 5th Ave).

All are welcome, and folks who live or work nearby (in the NoMad or Flatiron area) are especially encouraged to stop by! RSVP is encouraged but not required. RSVP using the button below!

Questions? Email Jayme at jayme@openheartsinitiative.org.

Interested in getting involved in OHI’s city- and state-level policy advocacy efforts to end homelessness in NYC? Join OHI's member-led Policy and Advocacy Committee for our next meeting.

On the agenda:

• Planning actions in support of our policy priorities

This meeting will be on Zoom. RSVP below to get the Zoom link!

I want to volunteer at the Free Store:

We need LOTS of volunteers on the day of the Free Store, including for shifts before and after the event. Sign up here!

I want to donate items to the Free Store:

There are two ways to donate:

Drop off donations: We're looking for new or gently used summer clothing, hygiene supplies, and food pantry items. These items can be dropped off any time at Roots Cafe in Park Slope, or at Grace-Hanson United Methodist Church from 11-1pm on 6/20.

Donate to the paypal for hygiene supplies and snacks here!

Have you ever been part of a conversation with another housed neighbor where homelessness has come up, and you haven’t been sure what to say? Our Talking About Homelessness with Friends & Neighbors workshop can help! This virtual, small-group workshop is highly interactive, so come ready to participate!

This workshop is part of our advocacy workshop series. We’ll cover:

• Why it’s hard to change someone’s mind—and how to do it more effectively

• Having a conversation about homelessness that goes deeper than knee-jerk reactions and talking points

• How to talk about why this issue matters to you

This workshop will take place on Zoom on Wednesday, June 17, 6:30pm-8pm. It’s totally free. NOTE: If you RSVP initially and are no longer able to attend, no hard feelings--we understand that life happens--but we ask you to cancel your RSVP so we can admit additional participants off the waitlist.

Sign up using the button below. Questions? Email Will at will@openheartsinitiative.org. 

Got 10 minutes at lunch? Make a call that matters.

New York City restarted encampment sweeps in March. Sweeps don't work: only 5% of people displaced during the previous administration accepted shelter, and even fewer stayed. Instead of helping people, sweeps break the trust that outreach workers have spent time building and result in people losing their belongings.

The city shouldn’t waste resources on this kind of ineffective action. Our City Council members need to hear from you that we want real solutions to homelessness — not sweeps.

Join our virtual drop-in phone bank on Tuesday, June 9 from 12pm-1pm.

Show up whenever works for you. The whole thing takes 5–10 minutes:

• Jump into the video call

• Get the script and instructions to find your council member's number from the chat

• Step away, make the call, come back and log it

• Drop off whenever — no need to stay

Just 10 minutes and a phone – no special experience needed! 

We'll be calling throughout the hour and supporting each other as we call — so even if you can only pop in briefly, you'll be part of something bigger.

👉 RSVP using the button below.

Our monthly Homelessness: Learning From Experience (HLFE) meetings provide a space for unhoused neighbors to share experiences, build connections, and provide input that informs OHI's work. These meetings are also a great opportunity for folks who are housed to listen and learn about homelessness and build connections with neighbors in a casual setting.

If you're interested in joining us, click the button below to RSVP. Location will be shared upon RSVP.

We’ll be talking about:

• To be announced!

Questions? Email Will at will@openheartsinitiative.org.

Interested in getting involved in OHI’s city- and state-level policy advocacy efforts to end homelessness in NYC? Join OHI's member-led Policy and Advocacy Committee for our next meeting.

On the agenda:

• Planning actions in support of our policy priorities

This meeting will be on Zoom. RSVP below to get the Zoom link!

Our weekly English language learning classes at a shelter in Midtown, which take place on Mondays & Tuesdays 12pm-1pm, need an additional volunteer who speaks some Spanish or French. If you can help with this, email Shaili at shaili@openheartsinitiative.org. 

Please note, this week’s Monday session is cancelled due to Memorial Day!

Interested in speaking up for housing and shelters in your neighborhood, but not sure how to do it? Our Neighborhood Advocacy: Speaking at Community Board Meetings workshop can help. This virtual, small-group workshop is highly interactive, so come ready to participate!

This workshop is part of our advocacy workshop series. We’ll cover:

• What Community Boards are and why they play an important role in discussions about housing and shelter sites

• Key principles for speaking effectively at a Community Board meeting

• Building talking points and practicing what you might say

This workshop will take place on Zoom on Wednesday, May 20 from 6:30pm-8:30pm. It’s totally free. NOTE: If you RSVP initially and are no longer able to attend, no hard feelings--we understand that life happens--but we ask you to cancel your RSVP so we can admit additional participants off the waitlist.

Sign up using the button below. Questions? Email Will at will@openheartsinitiative.org. 

I want to volunteer at the Free Store:

We need LOTS of volunteers on the day of the Free Store, including for shifts before and after the event. Sign up here!

I want to donate items to the Free Store:

There are two ways to donate:

Drop off donations: We're looking for new or gently used spring & summer clothing, hygiene supplies, and food pantry items. These items can be dropped off any time at Roots Cafe in Park Slope, or at Grace-Hanson United Methodist Church from 11-1pm on 5/16.

Donate to the paypal for hygiene supplies and snacks here!

Sign up to donate here!