So impressed by the compassionate treatment of residents here. Truly amazing work on a shoestring…read morebudget.

Years ago my husband And I together with our new baby were evicted when my landlord told us we had…read morebroken our lease when we had the baby. There I was still in the hospital with nowhere else to go. The social worker found us a place at Raphael House on Sutter Street. This was when there was a Brother Juniper coffee shop down below. My son is grown now but we have fond memories of the kindness shown to us when we stayed. God bless all the Brothers and Sisters

Professional staff. Very prompt and caring. They get the job done without abuse or disrespect. They…read moretry to make life better at a time when all is challenging. They save lives when life has suddenly become too hard. It is where you want to be when you need a helping hand up.

It was by chance that I found this organization. There is a local homeless group that reached out…read moreto me to ask me to help donate meals towards a drive-thru event. I bought meal prep containers and everything but the event was pushed back and then the gal never replied to me so instead of just saying, "f---- it" I called around to see if there are any organizations that would accept homemade meals. Spoke to Tom and confirmed w/ him a few days after just to reiterate the commitment. I woke up at 5AM to start. About 4hrs later, voila! It didn't take long to commute to San Francisco. I came on time and had the opportunity to say hello to the kitchen staff and to write a little blurb on their white dry/erase board. It was an exhausting experience to literally prepare these by myself - which made me appreciate organizations such as this. We have to be kind and be open to helping others. If you can't help or don't want to help, that's perfectly OK but what you can do is stay quiet. Nobody needs to hear negativity esp during this time.

Likely best free Bay area breakfast oatmeal/grits…read more Likely best free Bay area macaroni and cheese. Though likely dependant of cook. You may complain garbage bins everywhere but, there is recycling and compost. IMPORTANT. Right outside, Farmer's Market.

their breakfast usually suck, but their lunches are top notch. Thank you for everything!read more

I'm a landlord and I've had nothing but problems with them. They have not paid me all my rent, the…read morecommunication is horrible and after this tenant I will not rent to any of there tenants again because they are always behind. Intent is well but organization in horrible. Landlord

Social worker Claudia S helps so many families find housing. She helped my aunt and her two kids…read morefind a town house on Treasure Island. We are grateful for the hard working dedicated Claudia and the team at Hamilton. Good people doing good things.

Great nonprofit serving homeless and marginally housed seniors in SF's Tenderloin District. I've…read morebeen volunteering here since 2015 and I greatly respect former Executive Director Greg Moore and his work to improve the conditions of those we often overlook. Check it out for truly rewarding volunteer experiences!

Bottom of the barrel leaders and a waste of space. I know…read morethis from being a client and a staff member spanning many years. Steer clear at all costs.

Stole $1500 new laptop,new cell phone,new clothes for my job. MSC should be closed down for…read morestealing homeless people's valuables as they locked the guests out for Plandemic and KEPT their Valuables. I paid my GA money to stay there.RIPOFF.SCAM.THEIVES.shut this trap down!

Very difficult to donate to. Had to schedule on the website, but with the ambiguity on what they…read morewould take I had to make a phone call. Was told they would take office chairs, not desks. Only take 3 beds, no more. They were scheduled to be out in the afternoon (1pm - 4pm). They called at 11 am to say they were 20 minutes away. We had to drop everything to get there. They refused the beds because the rails were composite and did not want to take the chairs. Mind you ALL this furniture was brand new for a corporate house that was never lived in. After a call to the supervisor they took the office chairs not the beds. The couch didn't fit into the garage, it was 6 feet from the door. They would not come into the home to get it. They would only retrieve from the garage. We had to bribe the "volunteers" $20 each to take the couch. Next time, rent a U-Haul and take it to Goodwill. Faster, cheaper and done on your time frame. If Goodwill can't take it, they have dumpster right there.

I want to start off my review stating that most of the workers at St Vincent's are kind,…read morehardworking and lovely people. They should be appreciated and commended for the efforts they put in each day. I went into St Vincent's last week. I was there less than 5 minutes when I overheard one of the employees (I'm guessing the employees are all unpaid volunteers) was speaking to a gentleman extremely rudely, insisting that he was a reseller. She stated they do not sell to resellers, I'm not sure if she meant that specific item or all items. The man stated he was looking at one pair of sunglasses for his wife and the worker exclaimed she didn't understand why he would be looking at sunglasses for his wife without his wife present. The gentleman ended up abruptly leaving. I was appalled hearing her speak to this man in this manner. Who is she to judge? There are resellers everywhere trying to support their families, many single parents and many with children with disabilities trying to make ends meet. It is absolutely none of her business and if this is how St Vincent's runs their charity operation where they've marked up goods beyond what most people can afford and scrutinize the ones who can, I will not be coming any longer and I will also let my friends know to do the same. It is after all resellers that provide a big portion of money for St Vincent's, Goodwill etc. Resellers are not going inside buying up all of the inventory, resellers are very selective and probably buy items that most overlook. With so much going into the landfill, resellers have really helped more than they've hurt. St Vincent mostly sells dingy, outdated, dirty items that have been extremely overpriced. They didn't appear to even be cleaned. Used sheet sets are taped up so customers cannot even determine if they're stained, damaged or unfit for the price. Resellers may be able to offer some help in pricing items so they actually sell. Prices for items should not be determined on any listing prices, instead they should be priced on the sold price if you are trying to compete with eBay or other online reselling platforms. However, if you're trying to be a charity that moves items quickly because you have a huge warehouse full of them, it would probably be best to price your items fairly so the public who can't afford your prices can purchase them or resellers can purchase them, at the end of the day the money is all going to the same cause, right? I'm sure the volunteers work very hard but another situation I've noticed several times and so have others is the way the workers treat each other. Some of the workers are so rude to their coworkers, belittling them in front of customers, being flat out abusive and just being controlling old biddies. I witnessed one customer paying for her items and the worker was trying her best to fit everything into the bag the customer was purchasing while another worker came over to take over insisting that she "let her do it". There's a sign on the door that says " no animals" which is a good idea. Too often than not I've went into stores in the valley with dogs everywhere. Some of them are friendly and the owners have obviously trained them to be in a public place. Unfortunately many are not trained, some are aggressive and some of the owners are not observant to what their dog is doing, rubbing up against other customers, sniffing and licking other customers, lunging at customers etc. St Vincent's maintains this policy for their customers, however not 10 minutes after I was inside, a worker comes out from the back with a dog. Double standards are not a good example of respect for all. I hope that St Vincent's listens to, respects their customers with pricing their items fairly, workers respecting each other & treating each other with overall kindness, especially in front of customers & not turning away paying visitors by deciding who is worthy of purchasing and who isn't. The cleanliness and organization of St Vincent's could also be a focus but that seems secondary to the bigger issues and it's understood that the volunteers work very hard and obviously not enough volunteers for such a huge building.

Been volunteering here for many years. The staff here go above and beyond. Monet runs the kitchen…read moreand cooks I don't know how many turkeys and pies and everything else for Thanksgiving. Lunch and dinner are served with love every day of the year. Hundreds of leftover lunches are delivered to folks in the community who line up around town for the soup and sandwiches. What's different about GRIP is that families get to stay together. And they offer services to go with the food and housing so that families can get back on their feet. Job search, parenting, literacy - there is help and support available for whatever the residents need.

On June 23, 2025, when I visited your office seeking a homeless verification letter…read more I came to your office accompanied by my home visitor, who was assisting me with translation because my English is limited. I am a single mother with two children, including a baby who has a serious congenital illness. I urgently needed the letter in order to apply for temporary housing at the Ronald McDonald House during my baby's upcoming surgery at Oakland Children's Hospital. Unfortunately, during this visit, I was treated with disrespect, insensitivity, and what felt like discrimination because of my immigration status. The supervisor, Manusiu Tuivailala, questioned how I obtained my California ID and repeatedly demanded my Social Security number. When I explained that I do not have one and described my situation, I was told that I could not be helped. Manusiu's tone and demeanor were rude, dismissive, and made both me and my home visitor feel uncomfortable and humiliated. When I asked for her name, she shoved her badge in our faces and said she was busy and had to go. Additionally, when my home visitor was offered water by a staff member, another staff member named Raasha instructed them not to give her anything. I felt threatened, unwelcome, and deeply hurt by this experience. As an agency that is supposed to assist vulnerable families and individuals in need, this behavior was unacceptable. I respectfully request that you: 1Review this incident and take appropriate action regarding the staff involved. 2 Provide clarification on your policies regarding assistance for families without a Social Security number. 3 Ensure that your staff receive training on treating all clients with dignity and without discrimination.

Great place to work, making a difference in peoples' lives. I've worked there since February and…read moregreat people run the place.

Homeward Bound is a fantastic multi-level, win-win for the entire community. Not only does Homeward…read moreBound take care of families in need. They also teach skill building classes in the kitchen. They have a community garden that grows fresh green for the kitchen. They also package and sell sweet and doggy treats. When not teaching cooking and food skills classes, Homeward Bound offers a banquet space that can provide full service meals or just a meeting space. The banquet space has a drop down screen, and built in camera equipment for your high tech needs. Another five stars for Homeward Bound if Marin.

You know you want to volunteer. You know when someone asks you what you did this weekend, it would…read morebe cool to say, "I helped pack meals for the homebound for Project Open Hand" or "I helped with some cleanup at Literacy for Environmental Justice". But you don't feel like you have enough time. Hands On Bay Area is such a cool vehicle for volunteering without commitment. Sign up, show up, do your 2-3 hours and go home. And if you find a project you really love, you can volunteer every month (most are recurring) or contact the agency to become a regular volunteer. I do wish they had more things I could do with my very young girls. I want to raise them to enjoy volunteering, and most of these projects only welcome older children. But we did do a "With Seniors" visit and a good time was had by all. Our new elderly friend Dorothy really connected with my 5 year old daughter. Meet great people, give back to the community, have fun doing it.

**************** REVIEW 427 ******************…read more I've been with Hands on Bay Area when it was Community Impact in Mountain View in 1999. Hands on Bay Area offer volunteers many options of the volunteer opportunities that match their interests, such as: - Adult education and literacy, - Animal support, - Children & youth (- Enrichment and recreations, tutoring, etc) - Community enrichment, - Environment, - Heath & wellness, - Homelessness and Hungers, You can choose from location different counties such as: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marine, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, & Santa Clara Counties! HOBA has a great website, that user friendly, you can RSVP your project that fits you & they email you the info and also reminder for you! You don't need any skill to volunteer! Hands on Bay Area website makes it really easy to do it & if you are new, they will make you go to an orientation, but it's easy & you get to meet many wonderful hearts just like yourself! So lend a hand, make a different in your community!