Thank you for your interest in supporting our work.

Looking for an opportunity for your team to support a great cause? We have a number of group volunteer opportunities that can make an impact for our organization while helping your team grow and learn. Read on for details about our needs.

Larkin Street really seems to have it dialed – there’s a focus on comprehensive services, a non-judgmental approach to clients (meeting youth where they are versus forcing them to change), and a holistic view of the issue (tackling root causes). I left deeply impressed by the work.

Volunteer Group Participant

Lunch & Learn 
An informative discussion with employees about youth homelessness, what services Larkin Street provides, what has changed during COVID-19, and the impacts on the young people we serve. This an important opportunity for those interested in learning more about a complex issue in our community with the opportunity to ask questions. 

Kit Assembly Options
While on-site volunteering is on-hold at the moment due to the pandemic, there are still plenty of ways to give back to the young people at Larkin Street. Our kit assembly options will benefit young people across programs. Donate the contents of any kit below and get a group together virtually to create personalized notes.  A Larkin Street representative will join to do a quick overview of services and be available for any questions.

Art Assembly kit
Our Art program provides hands-on visual, performing arts and design training, along with professional community engagements, including our annual Performing Arts Night.

  • acrylic paints
  • USB drives
  • headphones
  • sketchbooks
  • paint sticks

This can be combined with an in-kind drive of used cameras, musical equipment, and photo or music editing software.

“It takes a Village” Assembly kit
Some of the young people we serve are parenting or expecting and this kit reminds them that they are not alone and are part of a larger community. Get a group together virtually to customize/decorate white onesies.

  • onesie for decoration
  • package of diapers
  • 2 jars of baby food or snacks
  • $25 Target gift card

Basic Needs kit
These basic essentials are available in our drop-in spaces and ensure young people have access to daily supplies.

  • t-shirt
  • socks
  • toiletries (soap, toothbrush, comb, etc.)
  • razors

Move-in kit
These items are available to young people who are moving into housing and don’t often have the means to purchase. These kits provide important supplies and welcome a young people to their new home.

  • pillow
  • bedding (full or queen)
  • towels
  • cleaning supplies
  • laundry detergent, dryer sheets, and laundry hamper
  • cooking supplies (pan, pot, spatula, etc.)
  • $25 Target or Ross gift card to purchase additional items (optional)
Cycle Care kit
These kits include menstrual cycle essentials that crucial to the youth in our program. They are available in our drop-in spaces and ensure young people have access to not only essentials, but also wellness!
Curly Hair kit
Our youth deserve to feel beautiful and have self care and hair care that is unique to them! In the spirit of diversity, equity, and inclusion, we are asking for hair care specific to curlier hair textures!

In-person opportunities: 
We are working on new opportunities for the upcoming year. We look forward to welcoming volunteers back onsite and are hoping the following in-person activities can resume in the fall. We will update as we have more information.

Clothing Closet Organization 
Location: Larkin Street HQ – 134 Golden Gate Ave.
Time: Any weekday (except Wednesdays) after 2pm
Group size: max 15 people
Time: 2 hours

Larkin Street’s clothing closet, located in our drop-in space, offers professional and street attire for youth experiencing homelessness. We depend upon volunteers to help us keep this space organized and well-stocked for our young people. Volunteers will support with sorting and organizing donated clothing; sorting, folding, and organizing clothing already in the Clothing Closet; and giving the Clothing Closet a general cleaning to make sure the space is presentable and usable. If interested, we also encourage groups to conduct an in-office clothing drive for ages 18-24 to help keep our Clothing Closet stocked with age-appropriate attire. 

Kitchen Assistance/Meal Preparation
Location: Larkin Street HQ – 134 Golden Gate Ave.
TimeTuesday-Thursday from 11 am-1 pm 
Group size: max 3 people
Time: 2 hours

Providing hot meals for our youth is extremely important as many young people may not have access otherwise. Assisting in the preparation of these meals is a group volunteer activity that is available, however, due to the size of our kitchen we can only accommodate groups of 3 for this project. If you’d prefer to make a meal off-site and drop it off, you can have as large of a group as desired. 

Harm Reduction Kit Assembly
Location: Larkin Street HQ – 134 Golden Gate Ave.
Time: Any weekday (except Wednesdays) after 2pm
Group size: max 15 people
Time: 2 hours

Larkin Street operates under a harm reduction model, which aims to reduce the negative consequences associated with drug use. We recognize that illicit drug use is part of our world and we work with young people to minimize its harmful effects by providing safe smoking and safe shooting kits, rather than simply ignoring or condemning substance use. We ask volunteers to help put together these kits from provided supplies for distribution to our youth. We further work to link young people to our Behavioral Health program and substance use support, as youth are ready and willing to engage in the intervention. 

Harm Reduction: 

  • Understands drug use as a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon that encompasses a continuum of behaviors from severe abuse to total abstinence and acknowledges that some ways of using drugs are clearly safer than others. 
  • Establishes quality of individual and community life and well-being — not necessarily cessation of all drug use — as the criteria for successful interventions and policies. 
  • Calls for the non-judgmental, non-coercive provision of services and resources to people who use drugs and the communities in which they live to assist them in reducing attendant harm. 
  • Ensures that drug users and those with a history of drug use routinely have a real voice in the creation of programs and policies designed to serve them.
  • Affirms drugs users themselves as the primary agents of reducing the harms of their drug use and seeks to empower users to share information and support each other in strategies that meet their actual conditions of use. 
  • Recognizes that the realities of poverty, class, racism, social isolation, past trauma, sex-based discrimination, and other social inequalities affect both people’s vulnerability to and capacity for effectively dealing with drug-related harm. 
  • Does not attempt to minimize or ignore the real and tragic harm and danger associated with licit and illicit drug use (Harm Reduction Coalition). 

Conversely, Harm Reduction is NOT an excuse for sloppiness, carelessness, or indifference to the long-term wellbeing and potential of young people. 

Reach out to volunteer@larkinstreetyouth.org to schedule a volunteer opportunity today.