the first step is
Learning to read, at any age
Our literacy circles meet in libraries, kitchens, and the back rooms of churches. Volunteers sit with adults who never learned to read, and with children whose schools could not reach them. No tests, no shame — just letters, slowly, together.
- 412readers welcomed
- 38circles meeting weekly
- 11cities, and growing
the first step is
A clinic on a Tuesday morning
For many, a doctor's visit is something postponed for years. Our partner clinics open early on Tuesdays for people without insurance, without papers, without anyone to drive them. Blood pressure, eyes, ears, a long conversation. The first checkup of a long life.
I had not seen a doctor in twenty-two years. They listened to my heart and told me it was strong. I cried in the parking lot.
— Mira, 64, first-time patient
- 2,180first visits
- 17partner clinics
- 94%return for follow-up
the first step is
Keys to your own front door
Independence begins with a door that is yours to close. Through our housing companions program, we walk alongside young people leaving care, mothers leaving shelters, and elders leaving rooms they have outgrown. We help with paperwork, with first-month rent, and with the quiet practice of belonging to a place.
- ✓ applications walked through, side by side
- ✓ first-month rent and a kettle
- ✓ a phone number you can always call
- ○ a neighbour who knows your name
- ○ a year of stability, then two, then ten
coming next
A first warm meal, every weekday
Our next first step is a community kitchen partnership — pilot opening this autumn in two boroughs. If you can cook, drive, or simply sit and share a table, we would like to hear from you.