A branch of the GNO Caring Collective in the Lower 9th Ward
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Our Story
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 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.
Services
We organize locally and hyperlocally in Greater New Orleans and beyond, with our base at the Fred Hampton Free Store in the Lower 9th Ward. From here, we run a free thrift store, skate rink, and community center, an open, welcoming space for neighbors near and far. See our weekly schedule here.
Born from the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve grown through Hurricane Ida and multiple tornado responses. While our weekly and monthly efforts continue, we’re always ready to transform our community center into a relief hub—or shelter—when disaster strikes. Our work has reached deep into Louisiana’s river and coastal parishes and across the Gulf Coast, and we stand ready to mobilize again. Learn more about our history and principles here.
Beyond daily operations, we collaborate with partner organizations and individuals doing powerful work locally, across Louisiana, the Gulf Coast, and abroad. Our community center—the only all-ages venue in Greater New Orleans—has become a hub for radical, queer, punk, and skate culture, thanks to the groups who’ve made it their home. Meet our partners here or find out how to host your event at the Free Store here.
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Fred Hampton Free Store
Land Acknowledgement
Join us in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, on land long known as Bulbancha, “the place of many tongues.” We honor the Indigenous peoples and the African-descended communities whose labor, resilience, and culture have shaped this place, and we commit to honoring their presence and struggles for justice today.
Location
5523 Saint Claude Ave
New Orleans, LA 70119
Contact
dan@gnocc.net
www.gnocc.net