at 137 E 2nd St, New York , 10009
Founded in 1982 by two university professors who saw a great need among the many homeless people in their neighborhood. Together they started a temporary – or so they thought – soup kitchen open to anyone who needed sustenance.
But just serving a meal is often not enough. One of the benefits of being there for our guests each and every Saturday for over 25 years is that we are often the most dependable thing in their lives, lives usually filled with great uncertainty. We have worked hard to earn their trust, which allows us to provide other much-needed services: Volunteers overseen by a professional social worker assist our guests with advice and referrals for their housing, healthcare, employment, legal and other social service needs. The Kitchen also partners with other local community groups to provide direct services to our guests, including food stamp registration, vision screening and drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs. Donated computers with Internet access donated by Nazareth Housing, a wonderful neighboring social service agency are available for use by our guests. Volunteers are on hand to help put together résumés, teach basic computer skills, look for jobs, and research available services. We operate a pantry for food staples. We distribute donated clothing.
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Ronald McDonald House New York provides a temporary “home-away-from-home” for pediatric cancer patients and their families.
Auto-Free NY has been holding FREE monthly meetings, featuring a wide variety of guest speakers, since its founding in February, 1989. Usually held in lower or midtown Manhattan, they are open to the public, and no reservations are needed.