How to Help: Volunteer, Show Up, Count, Share
Updated October 28, 2026. Every phone number was checked against an official page.
Most people in Santa Monica want to help and do not know where to start. This page is the start. Everything Empower Santa Monica asks of you is time, not money. Nobody here is paid, we take no donations and there is nothing to buy. If you would rather give time to an organization that runs beds, meals or clinics, the directory below lists them with their public ratings.
Volunteer with Empower Santa Monica (no money changes hands)
Everything we do is in the open: the plan, the sources, the numbers, and who we have written to. Pick one thing from this list and do it today.
| Do this | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Speak or write in at the Nov 10 City Council meeting. Scripts are written for you. | 2 minutes | Show up Nov 10 |
| Print the flyers and leave them at a cafe, a library board or a school pickup. | 10 minutes | Plan flyer, Nov 10 flyer, share kit |
| Take the two-minute neighbor survey. It shapes what we take to Council. | 2 minutes | Survey |
| Share a story: what you have seen, or what worked. | 5 minutes | Share your story |
| Be the block captain for your block: one neighbor who passes things along. | 1 hour a month | Block captains |
| Take a walk or a shift with neighbors. | 1 to 2 hours | Walks and shifts |
| Count a park: log how many people you saw at a park and when. Totals only, never descriptions of people, so the City's numbers can be checked against ours. | 3 minutes | Park counts |
| Send the site to two neighbors. | 1 minute | empowersantamonica.com |
What is in it for the City? Nothing to pay
The plan asks the City to use laws and money it already has, and to publish what it gets for them. It does not ask for a contract with us, a grant to us, or a seat for us. Residents do the showing up, the counting and the sharing. The City does its job in public. That is the whole arrangement.
Other organizations doing the work in Santa Monica
Third-party information. Please read this first. Each line comes from the organization's own website and, where linked, from Charity Navigator or ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer, checked on 2026-10-28. Empower Santa Monica has no relationship with any of these organizations, takes no money from them and does not vet them. Check the ratings and the pages yourself before giving time or money. Nothing here is an endorsement. Something wrong here? Tell us and we will fix it.
| Organization | What they do | Type | Volunteer | Rating or filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph Center | Homelessness and housing programs on the Westside, from outreach and meals to case management and housing placement. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (4 of 4 stars) |
| Harvest Home | Residential program for pregnant women experiencing homelessness, with housing, classes and support for mother and baby. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (4 of 4 stars) |
| Upward Bound House | Shelter and housing for families with children experiencing homelessness, with a Kids Club and life-skills support. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (4 of 4 stars) |
| Westside Food Bank | Supplies food to pantries and meal programs across the Westside; volunteers sort food in the Santa Monica warehouse. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (4 of 4 stars) |
| Meals on Wheels West | Delivers meals and a few minutes of conversation to homebound neighbors in Santa Monica and nearby. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (4 of 4 stars) |
| Step Up (Step Up on Second) | Supportive housing and mental health services for adults with serious mental illness, including the Step Up on Second building in Santa Monica. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (3 of 4 stars) |
| CLARE|MATRIX | Addiction and behavioral health treatment, with detox and residential beds at its Santa Monica campus. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (2 of 4 stars) |
| Safe Place for Youth | Housing, basic needs, education, jobs and therapy for young people experiencing homelessness, with a drop-in center in Venice. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (4 of 4 stars) |
| Venice Family Clinic | Community health provider offering medical care to people in need from the Santa Monica Mountains to the South Bay. Clinical and administrative volunteers start with an information session. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (4 of 4 stars) |
| Chrysalis | Free job readiness, placement and transitional work for people facing barriers to employment, including homelessness. Office on Lincoln Blvd in Santa Monica. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (4 of 4 stars) |
| The Salvation Army (Bell Shelter) | Runs the Bell Shelter in Bell, CA, where Santa Monica funds 35 beds for people met on the street. Volunteer sign-up for the Southern California division is by phone or corps, not a web form. | Nonprofit | None listed | Charity Navigator (Listed (Western Territory); no rating shown) |
| NAMI Westside Los Angeles | Free peer and family support groups, classes, resource navigation and advocacy for mental illness on the Westside. Family navigation line (424) 293-0645; Spanish (424) 293-0646. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (4 of 4 stars) |
| Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services | Mental health, substance use and suicide prevention services; answers the 988 crisis line in Los Angeles County. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (4 of 4 stars) |
| Westside Coalition | Alliance of 81 organizations, agencies, faith communities and residents that coordinates services and advocates on housing, hunger and health. Meets monthly, in person at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church or on Zoom. | Nonprofit alliance | Volunteer | No Charity Navigator profile found |
| Jewish Family Service LA | Social services across Los Angeles, including food pantry access, meal sites for older adults and home-delivered meals. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (4 of 4 stars) |
| Safe Parking LA | Supervised overnight parking lots for people living in their vehicles, with case management and housing referrals. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (Listed; no rating shown) |
| The Giving Spirit | Volunteers assemble and hand out survival kits directly to people living on the streets of Los Angeles. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (3 of 4 stars) |
| Heal the Bay | Beach and watershed cleanups and water-quality work in Santa Monica Bay; monthly public cleanups anyone can join. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (4 of 4 stars) |
| WISE and Healthy Aging | Services for older adults in Santa Monica, including the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program, classes and meals. | Nonprofit | Volunteer | Charity Navigator (4 of 4 stars) |
| The Santa Monica Coalition | All-volunteer community group campaigning to restore safety in Santa Monica; runs a family reunification line. | Nonprofit (all-volunteer) | Volunteer | No Charity Navigator profile found |
| Exodus Recovery | Mental health and substance use treatment provider; operates SaMo Bridge, the City's 24/7 diversion hub at Main St and Pico (police referral only). | Company | None listed | Not a charity |
| Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. (Ambassadors) | Uniformed Ambassadors give directions, escort people to their cars and connect people in need with social services downtown. (310) 877-7731; emergencies 911. | Business improvement district | Volunteer | Not a charity |
| Project Homecoming (City of Santa Monica) | The City's family reunification program, run with the Police Department; more than 3,200 people reunited with family since 2006. Call (310) 458-8953. | Government program | None listed | Not a charity |
Ratings are Charity Navigator's, not ours, and change over time. Organizations listed as "Not a charity" are companies, business districts or government programs that do homelessness work in the city; they are here so you know who is who, not as a recommendation.
Where does your time do the most good?
Direct service. If you want to hand someone a meal or a bed tonight, the organizations above need hands, and they already have the beds, kitchens and clinics. A Saturday in the Westside Food Bank warehouse or a shift at a family shelter is real help, today.
Policy. If you want the rules to change, show up. Two minutes at City Council does more than a hundred comments online, because Council counts the room. The Nov 10 page tells you exactly how, with the deadlines and the words.
Information. If you have ten minutes and a printer, hand things out. If you walk a park every day, count it. If you have two neighbors, send them the site. The City's numbers come out once a year. Ours can come out every week, and they can be checked.
How do I report a problem instead?
If someone needs help right now, or there is a camp, a crisis or a danger, this page is not the place. Use Who to call: 911 for danger, 988 for a mental health or substance use crisis, SMPD non-emergency (310) 458-8491, Santa Monica 311 for a camp or an outreach request.
Sources
- St. Joseph Center
- Harvest Home
- Upward Bound House
- Westside Food Bank
- Meals on Wheels West
- Step Up (Step Up on Second)
- CLARE|MATRIX
- Safe Place for Youth
- Venice Family Clinic
- Chrysalis
- The Salvation Army (Bell Shelter)
- NAMI Westside Los Angeles
- Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services
- Westside Coalition
- Jewish Family Service LA
- Safe Parking LA
- The Giving Spirit
- Heal the Bay
- WISE and Healthy Aging
- The Santa Monica Coalition
- Exodus Recovery
- Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. (Ambassadors)
- Project Homecoming (City of Santa Monica)
- Charity Navigator
- ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer