About Hand to Hand

Founded in 1987, the Hand to Hand charity hosts weekly sit-down events every Saturday out of the Ocean Park Community Center, serving up to 200 meals throughout the day, and handing out much needed quality of life items such as tampons/pads, trash bags, bibles, haircuts, clothes, razors, can openers, toiletries, and reading glasses. In the near future, with the help of organizations like Dinner of the Month Club, they will also be able to distribute essential items like underwear, socks, and toothbrushes. DOM's own Tammy Gall tells us about her involvement with Hand to Hand:

Hand to Hand to me, is a charity in which I receive a gift far greater than I give. I only trade a few hours a couple of times a month; and yet it is I who receive so much love and light by giving it away.

We call those homeless to come to share a meal with us our guests. We treat them with respect, as if they were a guest in a fine restaurant. Just looking them in the eye and expressing a heartfelt greeting, means so much. Then to see some of their eyes light up when you ask them their name… and also the look of shock and joy when you call them by name the next time you see them… is more than words can say.

Our guests are real people. All with their own stories and situations. Not all homeless are drug addicts or mentally ill. There are all kinds of homeless people; same as “homed” people. The situations that have led some of them to their situation could be any one of us. Any one of them could be our brother, or our friend.

One of our guests, Nancy, is homeless due to the fact that she was in a bad accident and didn’t have enough medical insurance to pay her bills and ended up getting evicted.

Another guest, let’s call him Matthew, is homeless because he had a medical condition that left him unable to walk without crutches. His “nest egg” emergency savings account was also under his brother’s name. His brother died unexpectedly, and the courts took the entire savings and home to pay off the brother’s great debt.

So regardless of the situation that brought our guests to their current place, at Hand to Hand we treat our guests without judgment, with love, with light.

Hand to Hand allows me to feel connected to the community and world in which we live. When I can share a greeting, smile, and light with our guests, it allows me to realize how connected we are to each other. The soul within me acknowledges the connection with the soul in within each and every guest and volunteer there. It’s a blessing to feel that.

One time, besides the typical hot meal and various “quality of life” items we share, we had reading glasses to distribute. Wow, can you imagine what joy that brought to a person who was now able to see clearly enough to read a newspaper or inspirational book? The glint in their eyes, and the smile on their faces when they received that gift I will never forget. I believe so too will be the situation when they receive a new, clean pair of underwear: A basic necessity that they rarely receive; and powerful enough to change their mood. In whatever way, big or small, it will impact their life, and impact our world. Thank you in advance for sharing whatever you can."

Hand to Hand Saturdays, 9:30am Ocean Park Community Center 503 Olympic Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90401 Google Map to OPCC