We are a street mission of hope and friendship for beggars, street vendors, storekeepers, and commuters. We are one desire of fulfillment. We are sojourners with one destination, beggars for meaning, co-responsible for a more human co-existence. We live in one city where the rich and the poor need each other as constant reminders that we were made by the same hand, and that only through a human presence is it possible to discover the true answer to the needs of the heart. It's not "us" and "them"; it's just us, "that we may all be one," as it is with the One who created us.
2018 - 2026
18.3K
MEALS
16.4K
VOLUNTEERS HOURS
15.6K
PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS
6
COMUNITY POINTS AND STREET VISITS
A COMMUNITY OF BEGGARS
We strive to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness, asylum seekers, and commuters in the ordinary life of the street. It all begins by acknowledging who we are and where we are.
To acknowledge who we are means recognizing that we too are in need. Our needs are not only material. We need friendship, meaning, forgiveness, belonging, and hope. The person on the street could be any one of us, had life taken a different turn or had our circumstances been different.
For this reason, One City Mission does not begin with the division between those who help and those who are helped. It begins with a shared human need.
Anyone who is attentive and sensitive to the needs of others can become part of this mission, whether occasionally or through a more intentional commitment as a One City Mission volunteer.
The true protagonist of history is the beggar: Christ who begs for man's heart, and man's heart that begs for Christ.
Fr. Luigi Giussani
COMMUNITY POINTS, SIDEWALK AND SUBWAY OUTREACH
A presence in New York City, Kansas City, and Lawrence
One City Mission is present through community points and street visits: two simple forms of the same method.
At a community point, volunteers set up tables in places where people experiencing homelessness often pass by, gather, or sleep at night. They offer food, clothing, and conversation. The table becomes a visible place of encounter where people can come freely, ask for what they need, and take a small initiative. Community points also often lead to conversations with passersby who stop and ask about the mission.
During street visits, volunteers go out by car or on foot to meet people sleeping or spending the night on the street. In this case, the encounter is more personal and delicate. Metaphorically, we are entering someone’s home. We approach with respect, ask permission to engage, and ask about the person’s needs.
In both cases, the goal is not simply to distribute food or clothing, but to build friendship and recognize the dignity of each person.
New York City:
Where Everything Began
One City Mission began in New York City in the fall of 2017, even before the organization was formally incorporated. At that time, Salvatore was living in the Bronx and helping the Franciscan Friars with St. Anthony Shelter. After meeting several homeless individuals in front of St. James Church, a church closed since 1983 that had become a place of shelter for the night, Ed and Martha offered to drive around with him. From those first visits, the mission began.
Since then, One City Mission has grown through many seasons: the early street visits, the difficult months of the lockdown, and the arrival of thousands of immigrants in 2022, some of whom became regular friends at the Penn Station community point.
After Salvatore resumed his work as a professor at Benedictine College in Kansas in 2024, Paolo continued the mission’s operation in New York. Under his leadership, many new volunteers have joined, and the mission has reached even more people.
One of the most beautiful fruits of the mission is that some of the people first met on the street have now become champions of One City Mission. Their friendship and contribution have helped the mission grow.
NEW YORK, NY
SOHO AND WEST VILLAGE
STREET VISITS
NEW YORK, NY
PENN STATION
COMMUNITY POINT AND STREET VISITS
NEW YORK, NY
FINANCIAL DISTRICT
COMMUNITY POINT AND STREET VISITS
Kansas City and Lawrence:
A New Presence in the Midwest
In 2024, Salvatore resumed his work as a professor at Benedictine College in Kansas. He continues to serve as President of One City Mission and visits New York regularly, especially to accompany friends who are moving from life on the street toward a more stable and socially integrated life.
Since returning to Kansas, Salvatore has helped other nonprofit organizations grow and has begun developing a minor in Nonprofit Leadership, with the goal of helping form a new generation of changemakers.
At the same time, One City Mission began a new presence in the Midwest, with regular visits and community points in Kansas City, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Lawrence, Kansas. The work is developing in collaboration with other organizations, while remaining faithful to the same method that began in New York: regular friendship, personal encounter, and attention to the dignity of each person.
KANSAS CITY, MO
DOWNTOWN
STREET VISITS
KANSAS CITY, KS
7th STREET TRANSIT CENTER
COMMUNITY POINT
LAWRENCE, KS
PUBLIC LIBRARY
COMMUNITY POINT
EVERY PENNY WARMS:
$3 a month, an act of hospitality for those on the streets.
In the last 8 years, One City Mission has provided 18,700 home-cooked meals, connecting with thousands of individuals in need in NYC. With our 'Every Penny Warms' initiative, we're aiming to raise $30,000 to ensure the continuation of this heartfelt mission. Relying exclusively on the generosity of individual donors, we're rallying 1,000 champions to make a small monthly commitment of just $3 each. Be part of the Street Hospitality Movement. Pledge your $3 monthly today.
One City Mission Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Officers and volunteers do not financially profit from their work.
CONTACT US
Get in touch with One City Mission to discover more about our work, and how to contribute. We thank you for your support.