Who we are

Mission Statement

 We are neighbors in the Greater New Orleans area who leverage relationships and resources to provide material support to at-risk families in our network and other organizations, thereby maximizing our reach. Our organizing principles include a focus on mutual aid and harm reduction as critical tools towards local community autonomy and resilience in the face of increasingly frequent catastrophic weather events and attempted wholesale destruction of public social programs by fascists and their sympathizers. Solidarity Not Charity

  Born in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, GNO Caring Collective once supported over 1,000 Greater New Orleans families with weekly grocery deliveries, check-ins, rides to appointments, and more. As resources shifted, we focused on long-term community care until Hurricane Ida in 2021 reignited large-scale relief efforts across Louisiana’s river parishes and coast. That momentum carried through two tornado disasters in Arabi within a single year, cementing our resolve to remain both a steady resource and a ready disaster-response hub.

That resolve led us to the Fred Hampton Free Store, located at 5523 St. Claude in the Lower 9th Ward. The building’s owner donates the space; we cover utilities and keep it open as a community hub—part free thrift store, part skate rink, part venue, part gathering place. Hundreds visit weekly for clothing, medicine, music, or just to skate.

Here, people can see why we do what we do: because radical spaces matter, spaces where uncertainty is met with solidarity. Named for Chairman Fred Hampton, Sr., the Free Store stands as a living reminder that human empathy, organized and fearless, can overcome fascism.

Brief History

  Fred Hampton (1948–1969) was a young, charismatic leader in the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party whose community work was as strategic as it was compassionate. He believed liberation required both political action and concrete programs that met people’s immediate needs.

Hampton spearheaded the creation of survival programs in Chicago, including the Free Breakfast for Children program, which provided nutritious meals before school, and free health clinics that offered basic care and screenings in underserved neighborhoods. He also organized political education classes to raise community awareness of systemic injustice and to build collective power.

One of his most visionary achievements was forging the Rainbow Coalition. This alliance united the Black Panthers with the Young Lords (a Puerto Rican activist group), the Young Patriots (a group of poor white migrants from Appalachia), and other grassroots movements. This coalition bridged racial and cultural divides to address shared struggles like poverty, police brutality, substandard housing, and lack of access to healthcare.

Hampton’s approach combined service with solidarity; he believed that meeting people’s basic needs while building cross-community alliances could lay the groundwork for systemic change. His work left a lasting blueprint for community-centered activism that continues to inspire movements today. 

Chairman Fred was assassinated by the Chicago Police and the FBI while asleep next to his pregnant partner on December 4, 1969. He is survived by his wife and his son, Chairman Fred Hampton Jr., who has graciously recognized our humble homage to Chairman Fred Sr.’s enduring importance as a leader and as a human being. Please support their family and the preservation of their history by contributing to their campaign “Save the Hampton House” @ https://www.savethehamptonhouse.org/contribute