Pop-Up Care Villages

Community, not just care.

Pop-Up Care Villages are one-day community events that transform parks, parking lots, and neighborhood spaces into welcoming hubs where people experiencing homelessness and housing instability can access meals, essentials, and support, all in one place, all free of charge.

MAD runs Pop-Up Care Villages 6 to 10 times a year, each drawing an average of 20 community partners and between 150 and 250 guests.

Pop-Up Care Villages work because the whole community shows up to build them. Local businesses provide resources and visibility. Faith communities open their networks and their doors. Healthcare providers, legal aid organizations, housing navigators, workforce programs, harm reduction teams, barbers and stylists, and neighborhood organizations all work side by side. Sponsors make it possible to layer in enhanced services, specialized care, and a deeper presence in neighborhoods that need it most. Each event reflects the community it is held in, because the partners who build it are part of that community.

For guests, the experience is welcoming and judgment-free. Share a hot meal. Pick up clothing and hygiene supplies. Get a haircut. Connect with a housing navigator, a healthcare provider, or a legal aid team. There are no forms to fill out before receiving help and no prerequisites for showing up.

These events are not transactional. Guests are not recipients, they are neighbors. The people who show up for a meal or a conversation are part of the same community as the businesses, volunteers, and partners who show up alongside them. That is what makes pop-ups work, and what makes them the beginning of something bigger for many of the people we meet.

Pop-Up Care Villages are also the entry point into MAD's full range of Restore and Advance services. Many of the neighbors we walk alongside through housing navigation, legal aid, and employment support first connected with MAD at a pop-up.

MAD runs Pop-Up Care Villages on a regular circuit across Columbus neighborhoods. See upcoming events.