The HUDDLE is the foundation’s anchor program. It’s a recurring gathering — small, consistent, intentional — where UpStanders and the neighbors they support meet on equal footing. Not as helpers and helped, but as friends.
Why a recurring gathering
Friendship doesn’t form in single touchpoints. Research on social connection consistently shows that frequency and predictability of contact, not intensity, is what builds the trust that changes lives. The HUDDLE is built around that finding.
What happens in a HUDDLE
- Shared meal or coffee
- Open conversation, no agenda imposed
- Practical check-ins on what’s going on in everyone’s week
- Light structure that protects the space without scripting it
Who shows up
UpStanders, neighbors experiencing housing insecurity, people working through transitions, partners from local organizations. Everyone is there as themselves — not in a role.