Hospitality Center for Homeless

Save to Favorites

About Operation Nightwatch

Location:

1432 SW 13th Ave., Portland, OR 97201, US

Mission Statement

Since 1981, Operation Nightwatch has been providing radical hospitality to alleviate the isolation experienced by those living on the streets. We also distribute essential items and offer drop in mental health support to those who request it. Our hospitality center is one of the few who offer nighttime services, and for this reason acts as a "last stop" and meeting place for folks to meet their basic needs, wind down, and connect with their community.

Description

At Operation Nightwatch, volunteers play an important role to those who come through our doors each night; and not only through serving food and distributing essential items. Social connection is at the heart of our mission, and we strive to provide our guests with radical hospitality through each interaction. Three nights a week we provide a comfortable atmosphere for guests to socialize over a cup of coffee, connect with their greater community of unhoused and housed folks alike, cultivate friendships...and probably beat you at Scrabble.

Volunteers arrive at 5:45pm and will be given a tour of our facilities, a brief orientation and a chance to get oriented in the space before being assigned tasks. Throughout the evening you may be tasked with a variety of duties ranging from coffee service to bathroom monitor, but our core mission remains: providing radical hospitality & social connection. We invite you to show up just as you are, and expect you to extend the same grace to our guests.

The majority of our guests are experiencing houselessness, but many do have housing and may even live nearby. Operation Nightwatch welcomes everyone without question. Every meal or cup of coffee is served with kindness and respect.