I volunteered at Project Transitions one Saturday morning, and let me say that this was a very fun…read moreand interesting volunteering event. This organization is dedicated to helping low income people with HIV. A super great cause just because they lend a helping hand to those in need. Our volunteer manager was super polite and grateful for our work. Sometimes just working with the best people make volunteering so much better then it actually is. In this case it definitely was a fun experience. We helped to clean up the garden, rake leaves, and take out the trash. Overall, project transitions is great in terms of their service and how they treat their volunteers.

You don't have to be Bike Curious to get involved. No matter your orientation, Project Transitions…read morewill make you happy to give your money or your time. They have been creating FUNdraising events to support people living with HIV/AIDS since 1988, focusing their efforts on various forms of housing - Doug's House, Roosevelt Gardens, and Highland Terrace and Community Housing. This past weekend I participated in one of their fundraising events called Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and for a $100 donation, feasters have an opportunity to eat at one of many private gatherings of wonderful food and company. I had the most amazing meal experience at Gateway Guesthouse where Bess and Blaise hosted Mississippi Rising* -the conceptual idea for a meal that seemed to not end. We took a trip down the Mississippi, from Minnesota to Texas... which fits in nicely with my own personal history. The 2 hour meal was followed by dessert and drinks at Nest, with hundreds of dinner revelers from the many other amazing dinners around Austin. This was my first year, but I guarantee that I will do it again. In December, I was treated to their Holiday Swing party by a couple friends and participated in the Silent Auction where I was thrilled to donate a pile of money to PT. In addition, they have a Texas Swing fundraiser and a Red Hot XX party at Oilcan's. They also operate Top Drawer Thrift Store, have a Bike Curious team for Hill Country Ride for Aids, and are a beneficiary of the HCRA. Project Transitions needs volunteers for a variety of activities for their residents and also for throwing these many events. Check out their website and see where your skillz and talents are a fit for an organization that truly makes a difference in Austin. *Michael Barnes was one of the 10 people at the table and wrote about the amazing meal at Austin 360 if you are interested in more details. I agree totally about the fried chicken, THE best I have ever had: http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/outandabout/entries/2012/02/05/mississippi_ris.html

What a wonderful nonprofit! I was looking for a shower chair for an elderly relative and learned…read moreabout this organization and they lend out free medical equipment for the elderly. I was able to get a shower chair easily and everyone was super friendly. You can pick up and drop off at different locations.

This company has many services, but I have used their lending closet on several occasions. Twice,…read morewhen my elderly relative was visiting and I needed things like a walker & other things. Fast forward to 2023 & I find myself in need of some things after breaking my ankle. After spending too much money on things and needing things that weren't so easy to find, I turned to these fine people at AGE for help. They provided me with the much needed elevated leg rests for my wheelchair and an extra walker bc it's not so easy to drag those things around when you're using a scooter. Cindy was the best! I'm very happy that they helped me when I needed it. They take donations, so if you have some unused medical equipment, check with them to see if there is a need. I know they work with some other organizations that provide similar services if they aren't accepting a particular item.

Background Information: This organization offers housing for women and children who have…read moreexperienced homelessness. Some, not all, participants come from Domestic Violence situations, however, this is not a battered women's shelter. Their website boasts about how wonderful they are, but I am here to tell you it is all smoke and mirrors. I lived at one of the two properties they own so I have first-hand knowledge of how they run the program. The housing program gets housing subsidies from the City of Austin, is a Rental Housing Development Assistance Programs, and has some affiliation with HUD. It's worth noting, this organization had ZERO policies in place for anyone with a disability, which is required by law for an apartment complex. They knew my son was disabled because it was on my application for housing and not once did they ask about what he might need accommodations for. My son and I moved into Saint Louise House's Program April of 2020, right at the peak of COVID. At the time I moved in, we had been homeless for a year, so I was excited to have my own place again. I was quickly disappointed when I found out it had an extremely bad infestation with German Cockroaches that they failed to tell me about until after I moved in. I was told that it was treated recently, but additional treatments could not be provided until businesses started to open up and I understood this. However, I would have preferred to postpone my move instead of dealing with the disgusting roaches for what lasted approximately 8 months. When everything started opening up, management finally got pest control to come in and spray, however, it was just a general spray, not the proper one you need for treating German Cockroaches. For quite some time, I continued to email management letting them know the general sprays were not working and provided numerous pictures of all the roaches. It was at that time I got an email from the then program director stating that Robin Kampermann, the operations director, wanted me to submit a video of the current roach situation because pest control "had just sprayed my unit." By this time, I had sent numerous emails documenting the issue and told her I was under no circumstances going to provide a video. The infestation was so bad, I ended up having to repack my kitchen because the roaches were in my cabinets, refrigerator and in our food. Roaches carry many diseases as well as feces as they travel so roach feces were on my countertops and cabinets, inside the cabinets, my baseboards, floors and wall. This created not only a major health hazard, but a major inconvenience to me and my son, but management still dragged their feet for getting the proper treatments and did not care about the health hazard this caused us. As a result, my son and I ended up having to eat out for EVERY meal which exhausted all my savings of $1000.00. Management did not care one bit and made no resolution to refund my money, despite having all my receipts. I continued to send numerous emails complaining about the roaches and nothing was done about it. I even contacted the chairwoman at the time, of the board of directors for the program, Molly Trexler, to complain and she told me the board did not get involved in such issues. My son, who is disabled, was traumatized by the rampant roaches crawling everywhere, including the walls and floors in our dining room and throughout our kitchen. I called the Austin Tenants Council to see what could be done and was told that it was a reasonable request to move to another unit due to my son's disability. I requested numerous times to move to another unit and was turned down. Management expected me to live in a unit that was a health hazard. Laura Ward, the Executive Director of the program told me it was against their policy to allow tenants to move. She accidentally sent me an email intended for other management employees, and she attempted to recall her email, but was unsuccessful. In this email she stated that she would no longer be responding to my emails regarding this issue and that they should help me relocate somewhere else. Robin Kamperman, the Operations Manager, and bully of the organization essentially refused to provide treatment despite numerous photos of the roaches and feces and email requests I sent. I literally had to raise hell and get the city involved to get this issue resolved. Finally, they got the pest company to do proper treatments, although I was thankful, it was a big inconvenience. All my cabinets had to be wiped down with a particular solution before each treatment and because the treatment was toxic, I could not be in the apartment for 3 hours afterwards. See photos for the rest of the review.

Vincare does great work for our community and everyone here at Integrity Moving is honored to do…read morebusiness with this wonderful foundation! If you know any mothers that are struggling and trying to make it on their own, please call this organization!

Katherine Saldana She is one of the coldest people I've ever spoken to. She comes across as very…read morecondescending and impatient. If you don't immediately understand her question, she makes you feel unintelligent or small. I only spoke with her a few times over the phone, but every interaction left me feeling uncomfortable and dismissed.

Donate to them instead of scammy nonprofit businesses like Goodwill. They will use it for abuse…read moresurvivors not to resell Easy in and out donation the times I've been there. Remember to check their hours, not open all regular business work days but most

Jaime and Tobi said it well... a great service to Austin and if you are interested in serving, give…read moreRosanne (sweetest woman ever) a call. Or you can drop me a line. One of two soup kitchen in town... serves between 300 and 400 meals at lunch each day. A great service to the community and a great way to get right in life. Amazing how helping others makes your cares seem less important. Allison needs to open a similar ministry for one-legged birds.

What a great service to the homeless and hungry population of Austin!…read more Yelpers Tobi D., Justin B. and I, led by Yelper Don P., a regular volunteer, spent an afternoon prepping, serving and cleaning here. I can't comment on the religious nature of this place, but it's my understanding that they'll serve anyone who needs it during their 11-12:30 meal. I don't know that they do anything else here (i.e. church services), as it seemed like basically just a soup kitchen when we were there. The regular employees and frequent volunteers we encountered were mostly great to work with, and they weren't afraid to put us to work right away. The less experienced among us were in charge of plopping one or more items on trays, then passing them along. A couple of others were actually handing out the hot meals to people. In that hour and a half, we served 358 people what could be their only meal for a day or two. It's a good feeling to help people out like that! My only complaint is that we weren't told in advance not to open the back door, and I was reprimanded pretty strongly for handing a guy a bar of soap and a towel. Apparently there's a very serious system to giving out that stuff, which is fine. I just didn't see the harm in giving out a bar of hotel soap. It appears to be run off donations from grocery stores of day-old bread, fruit, meat and the like. Toiletries were a wide assortment that led me to believe they were donated by random citizens. I'd recommend giving what you can, time, food or anything else!

I volunteered at Inside Book Project tonight and it was a great experience! IBP is a volunteer led…read morenon profit organization that provides free books to people incarcerated in the state of Texas. All of the books provided are free of charge! You read letters for book request, curate a small package of books found in IBPs library and write a letter to send back to each person. This is a really awesome way to provide support to all kinds of humans, who've been through all kinds of challenges. The 30 minute volunteer orientation was thorough and informative! They have volunteer time slots on Sundays and Thursday starting at 6pm! I hope you consider volunteering! I'll definitely be back to volunteer again.

I just started volunteering with IBP and have loved the experience so far! My boyfriend and I found…read moreIBP at an event at Meanwhile Brewing Co maybe a month ago and immediately signed up for an orientation training session. IBP is located in East Austin, housed inside of a church (although IBP is NOT a religiously affiliated organization). They have a huge library built on donations from the community. Every Thursday and Sunday evening, volunteers come to read letters from people incarcerated all over Texas, match them with books, and write handwritten letters back to them. It's truly such a wonderful initiative. People who are incarcerated have the opportunity to request books every 2-3 months and get books sent to them completely free of charge. IBP received around 1500 letters requesting books per month, which is so incredible. If you are someone who enjoys volunteering, this is the place for you! If you don't have the time to volunteer, consider donating to IBP!

"Basically once the units are built there is almost no budget set aside to maintain them, they are…read moreleft to rot and the inhabitants with them." My personal opinion is affordable housing in general is a sham. The unit I was in was amazing and large and about $40/month cheaper than the market rate option I'd considered without a roommate. However no one at the complex knew anything about managing, and there were so many issues here I really wish I had moved out sooner. How could the management do a good job though? They were blamed for all the problems the complex had and fired at least every year. There were numerous comfort and health problems at the complex despite how nice and new the units looked. Inadequate parking, roach infestation, bed bugs in some units, A.C. out for weeks at a time over the summer while some part came from Asia, two different floods from sprinklers or broken pipes that flooded units that weren't dried out properly. Vehicle break ins, torched vehicles and shot up vehicles, but we were on the border of gentrified Austin, only cameras or better lighting or security could prevent that. One thing that could have been prevented and changed my life profoundly: A dark mold was growing in the A.C. vents of my unit, I was very sick for over a year. I lost my funding for grad school, my daughter's academic performance plummeted, finally my unit flooded and it dawned on me as a civil engineer that maybe the first flood in my neighbors units had caused mold growth. I asked for an inspection and was ignored, I asked again and was ignored, finally I demanded a pen and paper and wrote a request, they finally sent someone who cleaned the vents. No mold inspection report, nothing done by the book. I went to the office to thank them since I wasn't choking on food while inside from my throat swelling shut, the guy who was fired a week later said that the manager had been let go and it was strange that I felt better because nothing was found. My neighbors showed me mold growing from their A.C. that was connected to the same centralized system, and mold growing through wood and paint on their floorboards. Basically once the units are built there is almost no budget set aside to maintain them, they are left to rot and the inhabitants with them. We weren't even told where the subsidies came from and never knew if our housing would be stable from year to year. If someone complained too much they received lease violations over nonsense so that they could be removed. That's what happened with me, I was told to file an illegal tow hearing by mgmt, I did and my lease was not eligible for renewal at the last minute over that case. I also believe in retrospect my income figures were intentionally altered to put me in a higher rental program instead of CHI which I was eligible for but didn't know existed. They used my student loans and grants that went straight to UT to say I made 20k a year when I made less than 9. Mgmt knew when I moved in that it was my only viable option for school while caring for a daughter who couldn't move into traditional low income student housing. When I moved out I bought an RV with my savings. I pay much less for housing, I could even live in a parking lot without electric and it would be free. Because I am able to perform all repairs and maintenance myself I'm in control of my housing. I'm healthy and able to focus on school again. Public tax dollars for housing the way it stands currently is largely a waste of money. The org is supposed to provide a lot of services to their residents as part of their funding, they either pawn off all the labor on volunteers and other non profits, or just don't provide the service, case in point, free high speed internet that was supposed to be provided at M Station, yeah I paid over 2.4k in the 4 years I lived there for the privledge of downloading my assignments and checking my email from home. I was even referred to AT&T (the only option) by their office staff, as I was moving I saw the TDHCA pamphlet that stated we were supposed to have free high speed internet. There's also a poster that claims we are supposed to have better quality indoor air by design. Yeah, try ventilating the apartments so that the indoor relative humidity isn't so high that mold thrives in the units.

An organization where the name says it all. This non-profit truly develops a communal foundation…read morefor the people it works to support. Foundation Communities IS the affordable housing initiative that makes things happen. To start, their refreshing fundraising approach is an annual no frills lunch that is free to attend and results in 100% profit. Everything required for hosting such an event is donated and the staff organizes a streamlined tour of the organization's latest project. Attendees get a chance to experience the living spaces, learning centers and the grounds of the community before sitting down to a short and sweet hour long presentation. You can't help but be inspired by the stories of those who's lives have been transformed since coming to live there. They offer financial guidance, income tax preparation, health and fitness activities, children's educational support as well as recreation in each of their communities. This is an organization that is passionate as much about their acquisitions and strategic planning because they are inspired by the people that guide their mission. Old run down apartment complexes are sought out to be converted as well as ground up new construction. They serve downtown Austin just as much as they serve the surrounding areas. There are places geared towards a single adult to entire families. Meeting the range of needs of the community is a challenge and Foundation Communities has risen to it!

Lovely little shop tucked away but filled with lots of beautiful treasures! It can be a bit hard to…read moremaneuver a cart when it's crowded but everyone is very friendly and pleasant. A tad dark inside but the store feels very welcoming. So many things to look at and choose from. Prices are very reasonable compared to the "big box" thrift stores. I had some luck with the jewelry section and some MCM vintage goodies. Not too close to my home but the trip was worth it. I plan to go again soon.

Honestly surprised nobody has left a review for this org yet…read more I love HCCM. Their Fresh Food Fridays have saved me and my husbands butt more than once when we are in a financial bind. Plus, some of the stuff they give out is some really high quality stuff! AND it reduces food waste. Total win-win. I love their thrift store. So many good finds and the prices are even better than other thrift stores I've visited around Austin. All the staff and volunteers I've been in direct contact with have been super nice. 2 thumbs up for this org, and thank you for brining some help/assistance to those of us in North Austin area. So many of these type of orgs operate in downtown Austin, so it's nice to have one close by.