Haley House, Inc

Over our forty-year history, we have gradually developed new ways to address the challenges faced by the people we serve. Our strategy is to mobilize resources to support people in their move toward economic independence and meaningful lives, through these endeavors:

Live-In Community: Meeting Haley House's constant need for willing hands and hearts, the residential community consists of four to nine people who‚‚‚‚—in exchange for managing a variety of Haley House services‚‚‚‚—receive free room and board on the upper floors of 23 Dartmouth Street. The community members spend their days living simply, engaging with our guests, and challenging the attitudes, institutions, and structures that create suffering and violence.

Soup Kitchen: Serving 45,000 meals per year, Haley House opens its doors to men in the mornings and to elder women and men in the afternoons. The Soup Kitchen emphasizes fresh produce and whole grains, but also provides much-needed friendship and social space for those who face the daily isolation of life on the streets, and for elders who spend many long days alone at home.

Food Pantry and Clothing Room: Recognizing that many families and elderly individuals struggle to make ends meet, Haley House offers a weekly Food Pantry to fight persistent hunger. The Food Pantry not only distributes canned goods, it also offers fresh vegetables to those for whom they are least available and affordable. Haley House also keeps a supply of donated clothing that we make available to our guests.

Affordable Housing: Haley House owns and manages 112 units of beautifully renovated and well-maintained low-income housing in the South End. Offering permanent and affordable housing to the elderly and others of limited means continues our long-standing tradition of maintaining a diverse neighborhood that enriches all who live in it.

Bakery Caf‚‚‚©: Located at 12 Dade Street in Dudley Square, the Haley House Bakery Caf‚‚‚© was created in 2005 in response to the neighborhood's desire for healthy, made-from-scratch food to be enjoyed in a warm, vibrant setting. Fairly traded products like organic coffees and teas promote global justice; our nutritious food celebrates the rich ethnic diversity of Roxbury's urban village; and our business model promotes socially responsible practices.

Bakery Training Program: Started in 1996 as a way for homeless men to earn an income, the bakery training program offers six months of paid instruction in basic baking and foodservice skills. Graduates gain the education they need to achieve economic independence while helping to produce the delicious food and baked goods sold at the Caf‚‚‚© and the Haley House corner shop, as well as through our catering business.

Youth Culinary Classes: In 2005, Haley House began partnering with the McKinley School to provide at-risk students with basic domestic food-preparation skills in order to help them on the road to independence. Our chef at the Bakery Caf‚‚‚© also offers youth cooking classes structured around more specific issues such as obesity and interethnic understanding. Our culinary classes are a unique way to develop mentoring relationships with at-risk youth, while also teaching them a vital life skill.

The Corner Shop: Envisioned as a way to interface with our neighbors in the South End, the Haley House Corner Shop is located on the ground floor of our 23 Dartmouth building and serves as a retail outlet for the delicious muffins, scones, and pies created by bakery trainees at the Dudley Square Caf‚‚‚©.

Noonday Farm: Farming organically since 1984, Noonday Farm distributes 6,000 pounds of produce annually to those in need, and provides many of the fresh vegetables and free-range eggs we serve in our soup kitchen and caf‚‚‚©. It also introduces volunteers and others visitors to sustainable living practices. Noonday's location in Winchendon Springs, MA also offers a natural and most welcome respite to harried city dwellers.

Earthworks Orchard Care: We are currently partnering with Earthworks, a local non-profit, to care for fruit trees on public land throughout the city of Boston. We periodically organize groups to prune, harvest, and do other tree-related tasks. The organic fruit from the trees we care for is donated to the Soup Kitchen, and used in the Bakery Caf‚‚‚©.