Picking a spot
- Lit and visible beats hidden — isolation is the bigger risk
- Near a 24-hour business, hospital, or fire station if possible
- Two exits. Never a spot you can be cornered in
- Avoid ground-level enclosed spaces and stairwells
You're welcome here
If you need a kit, you can have one. That's it — that's the whole requirement.
No ID. No address. No proof. No intake form. Nothing you have to explain, promise, or pay. This page has our kits, and it has the phone numbers that answer 24 hours a day, whether or not you ever talk to us.
Something happening that you haven't told anyone? Abuse at home, someone pressuring you for pictures, or something you've never said out loud — you can write to us privately at We Believe You. No name needed.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. If you are in crisis or thinking about hurting yourself, call or text 988 — free, confidential, 24/7, in English and Spanish. You do not need a phone plan to dial 911 or 988 from most cell phones.
Request a kit
Ask for a kit. For you, or for someone you know.
Tell us roughly where a kit could reach you — a neighborhood, a cross street, a shelter, a library, a drop-in center. We'll bring it in person, show you how everything works, and leave you alone if that's what you want.
- Completely free, and always will be
- No ID, no address, no proof of anything
- We don't share your information with police or anyone else
- You can decline any item, including the spray
- Lost or stolen? Ask again. Replacement is free.
No internet? Any outreach volunteer can hand you a kit on the spot, and any partner shelter or clinic can too. You never have to fill out a form to get one.
Kit request
Everything here is optional except how to reach you.
Practical
Things that help tonight.
None of this is a substitute for a safe place to sleep. It's what people who've been out there told us actually helps.
Sleeping safer
- Sleep in pairs or groups when you can; take turns
- Keep your alarm clipped where you can reach it lying down
- Documents and cash in a pouch against your body
- Shoes on or laced to your bag
If someone approaches
- Noise first. Alarm, whistle, shouting — attention is protection
- Move toward light and people, not away from them
- Give up property before you give up distance
- Anything you carry is a last resort, not a first move
Weather
- Cold: layers, dry socks, insulation under you, cover your head
- Wet is more dangerous than cold — changing socks matters
- Heat: shade, electrolytes, cooling towel, avoid midday movement
- Ask us or 211 about warming and cooling centers
Your phone
- Keep 911 and 988 dialable — they work without a plan on most phones
- Set an emergency contact on the lock screen
- Libraries, clinics, and many transit centers have free charging
- Ask us for a power bank — they're free
Health
- Foot care is not minor — untreated blisters become infections
- Wounds that redden, streak, or smell need a clinic, fast
- Naloxone is free at many pharmacies; carrying it saves strangers
- Federally qualified health centers treat you without insurance
Longer term
Finding shelter and services.
We are not a shelter or a housing provider, and we won't pretend to be. But we know how the system works and we'll walk you into it if you want.
Call 211
The fastest route to what's actually open tonight in your area — beds, meals, showers, clinics.
Ask about coordinated entry
Most US regions run a single intake system for housing assistance. Getting assessed puts you on the list; not being assessed keeps you off it.
Recover your ID
ID unlocks nearly everything else. Legal aid organizations and many shelters help with birth certificates and state IDs at low or no cost.
Ask us to come with you
Our Connection Navigators can go to a first appointment with you. Ask any volunteer or use the form above.
Your rights
A few things that are true no matter what anyone tells you.
- Emergency rooms must screen and stabilize you regardless of your ability to pay.
- Children have the right to stay enrolled in school while homeless, and to transportation to it, under the federal McKinney-Vento Act.
- You can generally decline to consent to a search of your belongings; say it out loud and clearly.
- Many cities require written notice before an encampment sweep and must store, not destroy, your property. Rules vary — ask legal aid.
- You do not have to accept a shelter bed to qualify for other services.
- Domestic violence advocates are usually confidential, and generally cannot be compelled to report to police the way some other staff can.
This is general information, not legal advice. Your local legal aid office can tell you what applies where you are.
You are not a problem to be managed.
Ask for a kit. Ask for socks. Ask for a phone charge. Ask for nothing at all and just talk. Every one of those is a fine reason to flag down our team.