Volunteer

VOLUNTEER

Heading Home volunteers are crucial to the success of our organization, our staff, and the people we serve. We have limited volunteer opportunities due to Coronavirus. Our regular volunteer opportunities range from sorting clothing and furniture to encouraging our recently-housed neighbors (clients) as they transition out of experiencing homelessness.

Below are several of our current volunteer opportunities. To sign up for a volunteer opportunity, please click here.

APPLY HERE

Gardening

We are in need of volunteers to assist us with a small raised-bed garden at our AOC campus. We will need assistance preparing the garden for the Spring/Summer planting season, weeding, watering, and general maintenance tasks. If you have a green thumb, we would love to have your help!

Cleaning

There are always cleaning and outside projects that we need assistance with. Our custodial team does a great job, but sometimes can use the extra help. This volunteer position allows you to help us make our shelters clean, beautiful places where families and individuals can find rest and safety.

Game Night Facilitators

This is a great opportunity for organizations, companies and large groups. We are seeking volunteer groups to help facilitate Game Night at the Albuquerque Opportunity Center once a week. We’ll provide the bingo equipment and other games, you and the guests get to play! If groups would like to bring their own games or activities, that would be welcome as well. 

Haircuts

Haircuts and grooming are very important to our clients. We are looking for professional barbers to offer their services to our clients.

Housing Application Helper

Heading Home’s ultimate goal is to transition our clients into permanent supportive housing. We are looking for a few friendly and efficient volunteers to help Albuquerque Opportunity Center guests fill out housing applications. This volunteer would work closely with our exit planner and shelter guests. The time frame for this volunteer opportunity would be 6:00pm – 8:00pm on weeknights.

Listening Companion (Additional Application Required)

We all need someone to listen to us. Many of the residents at our shelter have little to no social support outside of the shelter. This volunteer position allows you to be that listening ear for the men while they work to get off the streets. This position requires people who are non-judgmental, safe and not looking to “fix” problems that people are experiencing. It really is just about listening.

Moving Assistant

Help someone exiting homelessness by furnishing their new home. We need strong volunteers who are able to lift 50 lbs. to assist at our warehouse by sorting, organizing and delivering furniture donations.

Organizing Donation Room

We need volunteers to help us sort and organize clothing donations. Having an organized donation room directly helps the men, women and families staying at the Westside Emergency Housing Center by enabling them to receive the clean clothing they need.

WEHC Shift Helper

An extra helping hand is a great addition to the evening shift at the Westside Emergency Housing Center. There are files to be managed, doors that need to be unlocked for residents and residents who require assistance. This volunteer position allows you to get hands-on experience at one of our shelters and helps assist the evening shift team in making the operation run even more smoothly.

Special Skills Classes

Do you have a special skill and offer training? We are looking for people who want to teach our residents and clients something new. There are many things that would bring great value to the residents’ lives and we need people who want to share that skill.

Welcome Home Basket Assemblers

This is a great opportunity for organizations, companies and large groups. We are in constant need of Welcome Home Baskets for our newly housed clients. These baskets can be put together on-site at Heading Home, or wherever your group would like to assemble them. Our baskets consist of a mix of the contents below and are usually donated by the group assembling the baskets.

Basket contents:

• Laundry basket
• Toilet paper
• Paper towels
• Hygiene supplies (Deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, bar soap/body wash, lotion, toothbrush and tooth paste, Band-Aids, Kleenex).
• Cleaning supplies (Mop, broom, dust pan, trash bags, dish soap, sponges, multi-purpose cleaner, laundry soap, dryer sheets, toilet brush, and plunger).
• Pillow
• Mugs
• Can opener

Follow Us

Follow us on Social Media to stay up-to-date on the progress of our mission, ways to get involved and issues relating to homelessness. With your support we are making homelessness rare, short-lived and nonrecurring in our community!