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)

• Pads 
• Tampons
• Panty liners
• Flushable travel wipes
• Pain relief pills
• Symptom relief patches 
• Tea Bag
• Baggies to hold them: option 1 and option 2 

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.
Time: Tuesday-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.