It’s hard to accept, but most of us are just one tragedy away from losing everything. Homeless Americans’ stories are incredibly varied: no two are alike, and there’s most certainly at least one story you can relate to.
The thing about homelessness that many people don’t grasp is that it’s incredibly hard to escape: for example, even if you’re in line for a job that could help you get back on your feet, employers often won’t hire someone who can’t provide a valid home address.
But there are nonprofits at work that are helping to both prevent homelessness, and help people escape it.
Check out these 13 homeless charities and organizations that need your donations today.
13 Charities Helping The Homeless
1. Catholic Charities USA
Catholic Charities USA provides aid to some of the most vulnerable and aims to reduce overall poverty nationwide. This organization’s mission revolves around social justice and goodwill. Did you know more than 500,000 people in the United States experience homelessness on a nightly basis, and more than one-third of those are children? Catholic Charities USA has more than 35,000 affordable housing units across the country, but that number can be even greater with your help.
For donors who care about:
- Affordable Housing
- Immigration and refugee services
- Integrated health
- Social enterprise initiatives, advocacy, and policy
- Disaster relief
- Family foundational services
- Food and nutrition
How to Support Catholic Charities USA:
- Donate directly
- Shop and donate your cash back using Giving Assistant
2. Community Housing Partnership
Community Housing Partnership works to stabilize lives in the San Francisco Bay Area by providing housing and helping residents become self-sufficient. This partnership celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 2020 with more than 1,900 success stories! In 2019 alone, the organization helped 600 people find stable employment. Community Housing Partnership continues to counsel, lead volunteer efforts, and advocate for better policies in an area where those suffering are too often overlooked.
For those who care about:
- Housing and employment initiatives
- Community engagement, organizing, and advocacy
- Promoting housing choices
How to Support Community Housing Partnership:
- Donate once or monthly
- Shop and donate your cash back using Giving Assistant
- Volunteer in the Bay Area community
- Advocate to end homelessness
3. ShelterBox USA
ShelterBox USA started small in the United Kingdom in 2000, and it has now expanded to helping the remotely vulnerable stay sheltered all over the world, even in the most hard-to-reach corners. In just twenty years, ShelterBox has provided aid to 1.5 million people in more than 100 countries! The organization goes the distance to deliver ShelterBoxes and ShelterKits to those impacted by natural disasters and conflicts. Inside each delivery, victims will find family-sized tents for temporary shelter and essential tools and materials to start building a new foundation.
For donors who care about:
- Rebuilding communities
- Natural disasters
- Conflict and crisis relief
- Providing immediate shelter and safety
- Providing care items
How to Support ShelterBox USA
- Donate directly
- Shop and donate your cash back using Giving Assistant
4. Los Angeles House of Ruth
Los Angeles House of Ruth provides safe spaces to homeless women and children, who are often fleeing domestic or workplace abuse. LAHR started with just four beds in 1978, and it now serves more than 180 people each year by providing access to 80 beds in four different transitional houses. During their stays, victims are offered the help they need to become self-sufficient in their communities.
For donors who care about:
- Domestic abuse victims
- Women and children services
- Workplace abuse victims
- Shelter and housing
- Trauma aftercare services
How to Support Los Angeles House of Ruth
- Donate directly
- Shop and donate your cash back using Giving Assistant
- Volunteer for the cause
- Give essential items
5. Covenant House New York
Covenant House New York is leading the effort in fighting youth homelessness in New York City. This nonprofit provides more than a place for young people to sleep; It helps them to create and advance their educational and career goals, provides access to a health and wellness center to serve young peoples’ medical needs, dedicates shelter and other services to save youth from human trafficking, and partners with other organizations to ensure LGBTQ youth needs are met.
For donors who care about:
- Displaced and homeless youth
- Human trafficking
- Education and employment for youth
- LGBTQ advocacy and services
How to Support Covenant House New York:
- Donate to Covenant House New York
- Shop and donate your cash back using Giving Assistant
- Give essentials
- Volunteer
- Work for Covenant House New York
6. The Ali Forney Center
The Ali Forney Center protects LGBTQ youth by housing and providing services which help them prepare for independent living off the streets. The organization was founded in memory of Ali Forney, a gender-nonconforming teen, who fled to the streets after New York City’s foster system failed him. Forney was murdered in Harlem in 1997, and AFC’s goal is to ensure no teen suffers a similar fate. The AFC operates a 24-hour Drop-In Center, which provides services to almost 1,400 homeless LGBTQ youth from around the country every year.
For donors who care about:
- Helping LGBTQ homeless youth
- Youth HIV/STI prevention
- Peer-to-peer education
- Job readiness and education
- Providing free medical services
How to Support the Ali Forney Center:
- Make a direct donation
- Shop and donate your cash back using Giving Assistant
- Create a personal fundraising campaign
- Donate clothing and other necessities
- Volunteer
7. PATH (People Assisting the Homeless)
PATH provides permanent housing to those in need before focusing on building stability in their lives through voluntary services. What started as a group of just sixty people in 1983, PATH has now impacted more than 140 different communities. In the past seven years alone, it has found permanent homes for more than 9,000 people. PATH’s main focus is to end homelessness once and for all.
For donors who care about:
- Eradicating Homelessness
- Changing Whole Communities
- Permanent, Stable Housing
- Medical and Mental Healthcare
- Advocating for Benefits
- Employment Training
How to Support PATH
- Donate to PATH directly
- Shop and donate your cash back using Giving Assistant
- Ship necessities
8. National Alliance to End Homelessness
The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) is a Washington, DC-based nonpartisan nonprofit organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness. The Alliance was founded in 1983 by a group of concerned citizens striving to meet the emergency needs of a then-growing population of homeless people nationwide. The NAEH now leads the nation in federal homelessness policy, supplying data and research to elected officials and policymakers to advance congressional support and legislation that funds critical homeless assistance programs. The Alliance’s remote and onsite training also helps communities turn policy solutions and proven best practices into sustainable, on-the-ground programs.
For donors who care about:
- Veterans outreach
- COVID-19 crisis response
- Housing-focused emergency shelters
- Federal homelessness policy and legislation
How to Support the National Alliance to End Homelessness
- Donate directly to NAEH
- Shop and donate your cash back using Giving Assistant
- Sign up for advocacy alerts
- Follow the Alliance on social media
9. Coalition for the Homeless
The Coalition for the Homeless is the nation’s oldest advocacy and direct service organization helping homeless men, women and children, and other at-risk populations. Since its inception in 1981, the Coalition provides affordable housing, adequate food, and employment opportunities to the homeless in New York City through 11 frontline programs. Every day, the Coalition helps more than 3,500 individuals survive immediate crises and work toward long-term stability.
For donors who care about:
- Disability rights
- Crisis intervention
- Eviction prevention
- Job training for women
- Advocacy and impact litigation
How to Support the Coalition for the Homeless
- Donate directly to the Coalition
- Shop and donate your cash back through Giving Assistant
- Volunteer your services
- Participate in a drive
- Take action and sign a petition
10. National Homelessness Law Center
The National Homelessness Law Center (NHLC) is a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., and the only national organization dedicated to ending and preventing homelessness through the power of the law. The NHLC fights at the federal, state, and local levels to protect the rights of people experiencing homelessness, including homeless students’ right to education and the First Amendment-protected right to ask for help, which led to the repeal and end of enforcement on panhandling bans in nearly 60 cities. In addition, the NHLC operates programs to provide housing, food, healthcare, and education to homeless families, children, and individuals.
For donors who care about:
- Domestic violence
- Decriminalizing homelessness
- Building homeless shelters
- Fighting unlawful evictions
- Youth and education rights
How to Support the National Homelessness Law Center
- Donate directly to NHLC
- Shop and donate your cash back using Giving Assistant
- Join a campaign
- Offer pro-bono legal services
11. StreetWise
StreetWise provides a “hand up, not a hand out” by helping homeless individuals to earn immediate income and work toward becoming self-sufficient with dignity. Founder, Judd Lofchie, created the Chicago-based StreetWise Magazine, a street paper providing both a voice and employment opportunities for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in 1992. The StreetWise Transition to Employment Program (S.T.E.P.) provides participants with soft skills training and ongoing support services and has an over 90% job retention rate. The program’s impact (to date): more than 500 empowered to work plus over 180,000 magazines sold yearly.
For donors who care about:
- Community outreach
- Substance abuse
- Immediate employment
- Post-incarceration workforce reentry
- Mental health and social services
How to Support StreetWise
- Donate directly to StreetWise
- Shop with Giving Assistant and donate your cash back
- Buy StreetWise magazine (or advertise)
- Donate goods
- Buy StreetWise merch and GiveaShi*t
- Volunteer
12. Bay Area Rescue Mission
The Bay Area Rescue Mission (BARM) provides round-the-clock support to feed, shelter, clothe and care for the Bay Area’s homeless men, women, and children. BARM serves the community through faith-based discipleship programs that focus on long-term recovery. In addition, it provides emergency services and transitional housing, plus has a food pantry and distribution center. In 1999, BARM started offering training and a degree program for a career in the foodservice industry through its Culinary Arts Training Center. In late 2021, construction finishes for BARM’s Bridge of Hope Center, helping bridge the gap for homeless women and children.
For donors who care about:
- Faith-based outreach
- Job and life skills training
- Youth outreach programs
- Women and children services
- Family reconciliation
How to Support the Bay Area Rescue Mission
- Donate to the Bay Area Rescue Mission directly
- Become a Bridge Builder and donate monthly
- Shop and donate your cash back through Giving Assistant
- Make a non-cash donation
- Donate a car
- Volunteer
13. Tipping Point Community
Tipping Point Community fights poverty in the San Francisco Bay Area by identifying and investing in the best nonprofits to provide housing, early childhood, education, and employment to the over 1 million individuals and families in the region who lack the resources to meet their basic needs. Tipping Point also works with the government and local business leaders to improve public policies and systems, plus create community solutions that provide more life-changing services to the Bay Area. Since 2005, Tipping Point has invested nearly $300 million in unrestricted funding to support the fight against poverty; and last year, it helped more than 500,000 Bay Area residents improve their quality of life.
For donors who care about:
- Public policy change
- Community engagement
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Breaking the cycle of poverty
- Adult education and career services
How to Support the Tipping Point Community
- Donate directly to Tipping Point Community via their website
- Shop and donate your cash back using Giving Assistant
- Subscribe to the nonprofit’s newsletter
What is Giving Assistant?
Giving Assistant helps online shoppers turn their everyday shopping into charitable giving.
Members get exclusive coupons and savings at thousands of online stores, plus earn cash back they can donate easily to any nonprofit organization in the U.S.
Nonprofits who partner with Giving Assistant can more easily reach their fundraising goals by receiving these shopper donations.
Our browser extension makes giving easy. Simply download the button, shop, save, and automate your cash back donations.