A Hand Up Erie

A Hand Up ERIE (AHU) originated in 2016 with the vision of providing donated essential household items and furnishings to our community members needing A HAND UP with their current situation. Since that day in 2016, AHUE has confirmed its ongoing need in Erie County by providing thousands of families with over 60,000 donated and delivered household necessities.

The need for assistance in Erie County is substantially real. This is confirmed by the continuous list of clients who reach out to AHUE for assistance on a daily basis. And while many agencies in the area assist with securing living spaces for those in need, there are very few other agencies to help make that space home. That is where we come in.

In order to meet the needs of our neighbors in need, our volunteers utilize their own vehicles (pickup trucks and SUVs) to pull either their own trailer or one of the three AHUE trailers. Thanks to the Erie Community Foundation and other generous donations we now have 5 covered trailers to help increase deliveries and donation pick-ups.

All donated items are stored in a warehouse which our dedicated volunteers efficiently run. The ENTIRE organization is VOLUNTEER driven. No one is monetarily compensated at A Hand Up ERIE.

The range of those in need is broad and the reach of AHUE is constantly growing. AHUE serves women who are fleeing domestic violence situations, people recovering from addiction or who are being released from prison and who are working to rehabilitate into our community, people with disabilities who are experiencing their first independent living situation, and United States veterans who have suffered illness and injury protecting the freedoms we all enjoy.