Volunteered for the first time tonight, and it was great. It was sad to hear that several days a…read moreweek they don't have any volunteers. The only reason I found them was through searching yelp. I was looking for a place to volunteer for Thanksgiving and all the usual places were turning away volunteers, so happy I found this awesome organization. The pros- the kitchen is great! Big, clean, and well equipped. The staff is great, I was very late to my shift and the receptionist was understanding and the kitchen staff welcomed me in and took the time to get me up to speed. The amazing kitchen staff were personable, talented, dedicated and made the experience fun. I got to sample the food and it was delicious! The dinning rooms were so homey and lovely. The families were so appreciative and the kids were so cute! The cons- none. I am inspired to come back again and again.

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

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.

First of all I came here as a very last resort. They said you have to check in every 48 hours. No…read moreone said I am required to stay inside the building any amount of time after I come in to sign the check in roster. They said you can leave after signing just have to make sure you are not absent more than 48 hours. I followed the policy rules and they still exited me when I had returned after paying cash for my birth certificate so I can be added to the waitlist for permanent housing assistance. I asked my assigned counselor Victoria to see the sign in sheets because they claim that I had not signed in since the 30th. It was Oct. 5th when they said these things to me. She refused to show me the sign in sheets from the 30th until the 5th and said that it's confidential info even tho it's out in the open every single day for everyone who stays there to sign. She said she sees no sign in from me. Bold face lie. Staff stole my portable charger and my dual port charging block with 2 usb-c cords from a locked cabinet that only staff have access to. Shady af and definitely not a good place to get help if you are sane amand in need of real assistance.

I recently lost weight so I donated a full wardrobe and also gently worn and new shoes. I recommend…read moredonating your gently used clothes, shoes and any other items here rather then a Goodwill because they can be given to the people who need them for free rather then donating to an establishment that will resell them. Some people just don't have the funds to even buy from a thrift or second hand store so giving directly to the people who need it is best.

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.

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!

This is an update to my original review. My original review was a 2* but despite their issues they…read moreare the very best shelter for productive people who actually like getting up, going to work and running errands during the day time. Good for people who are somewhat self sufficient who don't constantly need help from staff or other homeless people. Pro's: The shelter is clean. Bug and Bed Bug free. More disciplined and well managed than Next Door. They kick everybody out from 8am to 4:30pm. Them kicking everybody out is a pro for me as a semi normal person who isn't chronically homeless or on drugs and who takes showers, brushes his teeth, shaves, cuts his hair, changes his clothes on a daily basis, shaves, gets his hair on a monthly basis, uses deodorant, has no criminal record, a long work history. Them kicking everybody out during the day time gives the staff 8 hours to clean the shelter which they actually do. It forces people to make better use of the time that they do get to spend inside of the shelter so that there is less drama, less conversation and fewer problems between the clients and other clients as well as clients and staff. When I am off work I don't want to talk to chronically homeless people. I want to use my phone, listen to my music and go to sleep without being bothered by chronically homeless people or chronically homeless people wanting to socialize with me or getting to know me. As a person who doesn't like stereotypical homeless people I took joy in knowing that they were out in the cold and rain on days it was cold and raining. It's too bad we don't have weather modification technology that can make it colder outside than it would naturally be. I would have made it a lot colder in order to push them to the breaking point and make them seriously consider changing their lifestyles and the way they do things and consider cleaning up and getting a full time job that pays more than minimum wage. It's too bad California has optimal weather for sleeping outside. Cons: The main and only cons i ever had with the shelter staff were the staff not honoring their own hours of service and kicking people out of the shelter before they are actually required to be out of the shelter at 8 am. Some of the staff were excessively rude while kicking people out of the shelter before they actually needed to be out of the shelter. I recommend not talking to anybody unless they appear somewhat normal like they do the things I mentioned above. Don't accept gifts or favors from anyone who seems like they are worse off than you are. Some of them offer gifts and favors just so they can ask you for things at a later point and they think you are friends just because they offered you something that you didn't need or want to begin with. There is a staff member named Darell who stands out among the staff who does a great job. Me and my friends used to call Darell the MVP of the shelter staff. Every morning he says "Please remember to put away your chargers and your cell phones. Please don't leave anything out for people to steal and well see you back at 4:30pm." Even though i'm not homeless anymore I can still hear Darells voice inside of my apartment telling me to put my stuff away so that it doesn't get stolen even though I live by myself and nobody else is around who can possibly steal my stuff. Some day i'm going to be married with kids in bed with my wife in the morning still hearing Darell telling people to put their stuff away. I stayed at MSC South 6 or more times for 4 months each time. You do the math. When I didn't have a bed I sat in the drop in center numerous times. You basically sit upright in a chair all night and that's it. It sucks. It sucks soo bad that I came up with a messed up nickname for it. I calling sitting in the drop in center "Fun Times at MSC South". It's dark humor. I was thinking of Fast Times at Ridgemont High and came up with "Fun Times at MSC South". Try sitting up in a chair all night with no sleep and then showing up to a retail job to work 8 hours. I did it.

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.

GRIP or the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program does incredible work for a disenfranchised…read morecommunity, bringing people together and offering a warm meal, a place to stay, get a shower and pick up mail and do laundry. What GRIP offers is free of any restrictions--you don't have to attend a Bible study or go to a meeting. They just take care of you and help you get life back on track. The board just expanded and the shelter has been going through an incredible renovation. The mural and garden and playground are BEAUTIFUL.

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.

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.

I am writing on behalf of a family who have been homeless for 1 month. They have been sleeping in…read moretheir car with a toddler. The program informed the mother that she must be homeless for 10 days before being added to the waitlist. It has been an entire month and they haven't received an update. Multiple calls have been placed to the facility with very few returned calls. At this time, the family is still in limbo and has no idea what's going on.

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!