OPERATION CHILLOUT is an all-volunteer outreach dedicated to ending to the crisis of homelessness for veterans, men and women throughout New Jersey and parts of NE Pennsylvania by:

• Promoting awareness of the multi-faceted nature of poverty and homelessness.
• Advocating for sustainable solutions and programs serving the needs of the poor, addicted, abused and homeless to improve the quality of their lives leading to permanent change and independent living.
• Organizing for peace and economic justice to address systemic inequities challenging impoverished communities.
• Engaging in direct compassionate action including the collection, dissemination and delivery of supplies to homeless people and the agencies that provide for their temporary care.

OCO founded December 21, 2000 to help a group of homeless Viet Nam veterans living in the open under a railroad trestle in northern NJ. OCO became a registered 501c3 not for profit in 2011. We believe in the inherent worth of every homeless man, woman and child and provide emergency supplies and survival gear to the most vulnerable members of our communities wherever we encounter them. We bring our care to all homeless people without regard to their religious affiliation, ethnic heritage or state of life.

Our Vision:

We believe in the inherent worth of every homeless man, woman and child and provide emergency supplies and survival gear to the most vulnerable members of our communities wherever we encounter them. We bring our care to all homeless people without regard to their religious affiliation, ethnic heritage or state of life.

We particularly seek out veterans of our military services, many of whom, because of the traumas they endured in service to our nation, face acute Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and chronic illnesses of body, mind and spirit, and are represented among the highest percentage of the homeless in the USA. We practice nonviolence, radical acceptance and hospitality toward all to whom we minister.

We welcome all strangers as we would a guest to our family and observe “no borders – no barriers” in our work. We practice humility, charity and the “spiritual and corporal works of mercy” to alleviate the suffering of the poor and homeless in our communities and throughout the world.

For more information please go to our website: http://operationchillout.org.