Hangout pairings will be determined by gender and age. Participants and volunteers will be placed in small groupings of 4-6 for the first few gatherings, then you'll meet with your Hangouts friend one-on-one.

Yes! Parents and caregivers are not required to remain with participants with disabilities during Hope Heals Hangouts. In fact, we encourage parents and caregivers to consider this time as a little bit of respite. Please make sure to arrange pick-up details and prepare to pick up the Hope Heals Hangouts participant at the end of the gathering. Volunteers are not responsible for providing rides.

Hangouts will take place two times a month, based on the availability you selected during the registration process. Once you've completed registration, we will contact you with your specific gathering schedule.

Volunteers will be trained on mindful disability etiquette, the culture and values of Hope Heals and Mend, appropriate and dignifying language, how to prepare your heart and mind to serve well, and basic safeguarding policies.

Registration for next season will open in December 2024 and gatherings will begin in January 2025.

Yes! For the comfort and safety of the Hope Heals Hangouts community, our gatherings will take place at Mend Coffee & Goods. After your one-on-one friendship is established, we encourage you to communicate with Caroline about what meeting up outside of Mend might look like.

People living with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to abuse. To protect the wellbeing of our participants and to safeguard our volunteers, we require volunteers and participants (whether they have a disability or not) to complete a background check before gathering for Hope Heals Hangouts. Once you register, we will send instructions for completing your background check.