About
Our Mission:
To serve people experiencing homelessness or living in poverty by providing food assistance and services that promote health, community, and equity.
Who We Are
Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK) was founded in 1987 to support people experiencing homelessness in New Haven by providing meals and other basic needs. Over the last 38 years, we have expanded continually to meet the growing need in New Haven.
In April 2021, DESK opened New Haven’s first low-barrier Downtown Drop-in & Resource Center, where our staff and volunteers connect unhoused people with not only basic needs, but also additional support services — like shelter, housing, medical care, mental health and addiction services, and employment — designed to move them BEYOND homelessness and poverty.
In 2024, we further expanded by adding peer-supported outreach staff who can literally meet people where they are, physically and emotionally. DESK’s growth in recent years reflects both the overwhelming need in our community, as well as our determination to fulfill our mission by addressing the changing needs of those we serve in creative, progressive, and high-impact ways.
Our Values:
• Respect
• Dignity
• Community
• Empathy
• Empowerment
Our Approach:
• Low-Barrier Services
• Person-Centered Engagement
• Harm-Reduction Principles
• Client-Driven Change
Join Our Team
Employment, Internships, Board Openings
What We Do
Meals
DESK serves dinner outside from 5:00-6:00 pm, Sunday through Thursday. Click here to see where we’re serving dinner tonight. Click here to see our menu.
On Friday & Saturday, we partner with Yale Community Kitchen, which distributes dinner at Community Soup Kitchen at 84 Broadway Street. Fridays, 5:00-6:00 pm, and 4:00-5:00 pm on Saturdays. All are welcome! No questions asked!
For more information, call
(203) 624-6426 during business hours.
Olive Street Pantry
DESK distributes whole foods, grocery-style at 57 Olive St. from 1:30-3:00 pm every Wednesday.
All are welcome, but we do ask for everyone to complete a very short intake form. Look here to start our Self Registraton process for new and returning guests.
Please bring your own reusable bag!
For more information, call
(203) 624-6426 during business hours.
Drop-In Center
DESK operates New Haven’s only low-barrier Downtown day program for people who are on the street, Sunday through Thursday, 1:30-5:30 pm, and 1:30-4:30 pm on Fridays. The Drop-in & Resource Center (DRC) is located at 266 State St. and offers basic needs and a variety of services to connect folks to shelter, housing, and income assistance.
For more information, call (203) 624-6426 during program hours.
Our Senior Leadership Team
STEVE WERLIN
Executive Director
LAWANZA HOLDER
Chief Financial Officer
LUIS OLMO-RIVERA
Development Director
EVAN SERIO, LMSW
Director of
Client Engagement
Our Management Team
VAL LAWLER
Drop-In & Resource Center Manager
CHRIS DEFILIPPIS
Facilities Manager
Board of Directors
SOFIA I. MORALES,
MPH, CPH
Board President
Yale School of Public Health
CAITLIN RYUS, MD, MPH
Board Vice-President
Yale School of Medicine,
Emergency Medicine
DAVID NORMAN-SCHIFF, ESQ.
Board Treasurer, Wiggin & Dana, LLP
LINDA CORTRIGHT, CPA
Board Secretary,
Self Employed
ALYSE SABINA, MPH
Public Health Consultant
DENISE DEAN
Program Committee Chair,
Fair Haven Community Health Care
John Whelan
Yale University
Brandon McCall
Connecticut General Assembly
OMENA MCCOY
At-Large, Masonicare Home Health & Hospice
ALEXIS TERRY
At-Large, UnHoused Activists Member
DAN SHETLER
At-Large, Connecticut Mental Health Center
BENJAMIN KLEIN
At-Large, Tzedakah House
SUN QUEEN
At-Large, Author
EmJ JOSEPH
Yale SOM Nonprofit Board Fellow
RIYA BHATTACHARYA
Yale SOM Nonprofit Board Fellow
Audrey Stankunas
Ex-Officio, Yale Community Kitchen
Louisa Kinsley
Ex-Officio, Yale Community Kitchen
Transparency
This notice describes the privacy policy of the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK). We may amend this policy at any time. We collect personal information only when appropriate. We may use or disclose your information to provide you with services. We may also use or disclose it to comply with legal and other obligations. We assume that you agree to allow us to collect information and to use or disclose it as described in this notice. You can inspect personal information about you that we maintain. You can also ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information. You can ask us about our privacy policy or practices. We respond to questions and complaints. Read the full notice for more details. Anyone can have a copy of the full notice upon request.