Current Projects: The Brown Bag Initiative

Hi fiends! For those of you who don’t know, I started the “Brown Bag Initiative” (BB Init.) in November 2018 as a way to help the homeless in NYC and to rebuild the humanity within those of us who are not homeless.

After MANY instances of seeing people pull away, avoid, ignore, or even berate the homeless, I wanted to to create something that would give people a reason to look up from their phones, take a moment to see that person as a person, and then actually help their fellow human.

I soon realized that most people have been taught that giving money to the homeless is a bad idea, so to combat that, I started the BB Init.

What is the Brown Bag Initiative? It’s simple actually and not very profound or original at all. I load up brown paper bags with a snack, a small water bottle, hand sanitizer, pack of kleenex, a hand-warmer, a pad and/or tampon, and a nice (non-religious) note of encouragement. I carry bags with me around the city and I simply set them down or hand them to anyone who is asking for help. On the street, on the subway, outside of a McDonalds, wherever. I have met some seriously incredible humans doing this.

Not surprisingly, folks have started to craft their own bags and hand them out as well! And others have donated directly to me so that I can buy more supplies. This is EXACTLY what I’d hoped for! Human helping human helping human helping human.

—WHAT’S NEW FOR BB INIT. IN 2019—

Now that the warmer months are approaching, I want to get a plan in place for what supplies might be best when it is hot. Suggestions? Want to donate? Need more info? Please leave me a message here.

By the end of this year, i am hoping to be partnered with a homeless shelter so that I am able to bring a music program to the homeless community. Music has such a healing quality and we all deserve to have access to that sort of communal healing. Who knows what type of movement that may be in someone’s life? If you have any leads or wish to be kept up to date on the progress of this please contact me here.

All my love,

Tahira