From water bottles to community support, Water and Kindness brings neighbors together in City Heights
The volunteer-run nonprofit provides free essentials and connects City Heights residents with community resources through five neighborhood programs.
Written by Emma Chen, Edited by Kate Morrissey
What started with handing out water bottles from the trunk of a car has grown into a community-wide effort to make everyday necessities accessible to San Diego residents, one act of kindness at a time.
The nonprofit Water and Kindness provides free drinking water, clothing, hygiene products and other essential supplies in City Heights to residents facing financial hardship and housing insecurity. With no paid staff or government funding, the organization relies entirely on volunteers, donations and partnerships with local businesses to serve its neighbors.
“I wanted to give easy solutions to large problems and filling gaps, not duplicate what other people were doing,” said Jessica Stephens, the organization's founder and president.
Stephens said she began distributing water in her neighborhood in July 2023 before formally establishing the organization in December 2024. After participating in other mutual aid efforts, she wanted to create something closer to home that would make volunteering accessible to anyone interested in helping.
Today, Water and Kindness operates five community programs — water distribution, a weekly free store, a monthly swap and community fair, partnerships for harm reduction supplies and a shared resource list.
Every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., volunteers transform a small community space at Pop-Up Winona on El Cajon Boulevard into a free store, offering baby formula, diapers, sleeping bags, first aid supplies and hygiene products.
On a recent Saturday morning in late October, a woman stepped beneath the turquoise canopies that shade the store and looked at the tables displaying donated travel-sized toiletries, menstrual products, sunscreen and first aid kits. Nearby, white metal shelves held rows of donated shoes, including sneakers, boots and high heels, while boxes and bins of additional supplies sat beneath the tables.
Volunteer Margaret McLean greeted the visitor with a smile and asked what she was looking for. After the visitor mentioned needing hygiene products, McLean guided her toward a table lined with travel-sized toiletries, sunscreen and menstrual products, pointing out the items she could take.
The two chatted as the visitor looked through the selection, and McLean reassured the woman that she didn't need to pay or bring anything in return. Before leaving, the visitor thanked McLean, who smiled and turned to welcome the next person entering the store.
Stephens said volunteers typically arrive around 9:30 a.m. to set up tents, tables and bins of donated supplies. Throughout the day, they help visitors find necessities, organize donations and repackage bulk items into smaller quantities to distribute among more people. Their work continues as visitors browse, with volunteers answering questions about available items and directing people toward different sections of the store.
Unlike traditional retail stores, visitors never have to pay for items or bring donations in exchange for supplies.
“We're not trying to stock somebody up for two months or anything,” Stephens said. “We're trying to help them get through the week.”
With only an 8-by-8-foot storage shed to hold donated items, the organization must carefully manage its limited supplies. Stephens said volunteers often divide packages of socks and underwear into smaller bundles to ensure the store can continue serving residents each week.
McLean said the organization's approach to helping neighbors without judgment inspired her to get involved.
McLean, who lives a few blocks from the free store, first discovered Water and Kindness after donating her mother's electric scooter. She recalled the excitement of the visitor who received the scooter.
The experience encouraged her to connect with Stephens and begin volunteering.
“We all need water. We all need kindness,” McLean said. “So I love the idea of providing necessities to people in a shame-free way.”
Beyond its weekly free store, Water and Kindness allows residents to volunteer with its water distribution program on their own schedules.
Volunteers can pick up cases of bottled water at three neighborhood locations — Stay True Cycleworks, Gem Coffee and Pop-Up Winona — and distribute them to people throughout City Heights.
Each bottle features a printed calendar of free food distribution sites in the neighborhood, allowing recipients to access additional resources beyond drinking water.
Stephens said the organization intentionally works with food distribution programs that place few barriers between residents and assistance.
The initiative also allows people who cannot commit to regular volunteer shifts to participate whenever they have free time.
Once a month, Water and Kindness expands its outreach through a community fair and clothing swap at Pop-Up Winona. Local organizations join the nonprofit to distribute resources, exchange clothing and connect with neighborhood residents.
Stephens said approximately 15 organizations have participated in the fairs since the nonprofit began its work. In addition to clothing, visitors can find books, children's supplies and seeds donated by community partners.
The nonprofit also works with local businesses and organizations to distribute overdose prevention supplies, including naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, and fentanyl test strips.
Participating businesses display signs that say “Harm reduction starts here,” signaling that community members can access free overdose prevention supplies inside.
Stephens said the initiative has already helped community members respond to overdoses.
Despite the organization's growing network of support, maintaining consistent volunteer participation remains one of its biggest challenges, Stephens said.
Stephens estimated that approximately 30 to 40 people have volunteered with the organization since its founding, although the number of available volunteers changes from week to week.
She said summer can be especially difficult to staff because volunteers often travel or have other commitments, making it harder to maintain regular Saturday operations.
Volunteer William Vera said he discovered Water and Kindness through friends involved in community organizing about five or six months ago. What began as an opportunity to help a friend soon became a meaningful part of his weekly routine.
Vera, who said he is unemployed and receives disability benefits, said the organization provides a welcoming environment where he can contribute without the pressures of traditional employment. He sometimes brings his parrot along while volunteering on Saturdays.
“It's good for my health to volunteer in something like this, especially at this place,” Vera said.
As the organization continues serving City Heights, Stephens said the needs of vulnerable residents extend far beyond the supplies that volunteers can distribute.
She called for greater attention to resources such as public restrooms, showers and mail services, which can help unhoused residents maintain their health and navigate daily life.
Stephens also expressed concern about a recent decline in attendance at the free store, which she believes may reflect increased immigration enforcement activity in City Heights.
She said the organization typically serves a regular group of about 15 to 20 people each week but had not seen five or six familiar visitors in several weeks.
Although she could not confirm why those individuals stopped attending, Stephens said the changes have raised concerns about the community's sense of security.
She emphasized that the organization's mission does not involve changing the lives of the people it serves according to anyone else's expectations.
“We're not there to change anybody,” Stephens said. “We're not trying to make anybody live our life.”
Instead, she hopes to provide a reliable source of support as residents navigate difficult circumstances.
Stephens recalled one woman who began visiting the organization at its previous location, Fair@44 near 44th Street and El Cajon Boulevard, and continued returning as she overcame addiction and regained custody of her children.
While Stephens did not credit the woman's progress directly to Water and Kindness, she said the organization contributed to a broader support network that helped provide stability during a difficult period.
Now approaching the end of her two-year term as president, Stephens plans to step down from leadership, potentially by March, after helping identify someone to continue the organization's work.
She said she hopes the resources and partnerships established through Water and Kindness will endure even as the organization's leadership changes.
“The whole idea is to bring more resources, keep our resources in City Heights and make them available to people that need them, so that we can better support each other as a community,” Stephens said.
For Stephens, the goal has never been to build the largest organization or take credit for helping the most people. It has been to create a neighborhood where residents know they can turn to one another.
“We can all share the load,” she said.
