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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

We need your help to continue this important work, follow the links in our bio and below to give on a one time or recurring basis and to explore our Amazon wishlist. www.freestoreindy.org/donate

freestoreindy.org

Donate | Old Southside Free Store

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

We provide: First Aid Kits Blankets Hygiene Products Soap Toothpaste Narcan Clothing Food (Hot and packaged)

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

The Old Southside Neighborhood of Indianapolis is chronically underserved and experiences high crime rates. We need your help to provide the hot meals, harm reduction, and crisis intervention that the Old Southside needs. (1/3)

A poster for the Old Southside Free Store in Indianapolis asking for donations

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Day by day, week by week, that's how we build communities that are fortified by shared bonds, and make ourselves collectively strong in the face of inevitable adversity. This is how we build a better world together.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

We have access to resources that our neighbors need, so the only logical thing is to tap those resources on behalf of folks in our community who have less, or no, access. When it becomes clear that no help is coming from external sources, you become the help that is on the way.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Mutual aid exists in marginalized communities everywhere you look, largely out of necessity. Unless we work together, we won't all make it, so we put differences aside and lend a hand. The free store is simply a continuation of that ethos.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Neighbors have opened their doors to folks with nowhere else to sleep, temporarily & long term. People cook meals to share, mow each others lawn, or come together to solve a problem. Neighbors give their last cigarette, the only food they have, or the literal shirt off their back to help a neighbor.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

One of the wonderful things about this neighborhood is that although there are no access points to city/state resources within the Old Southside, & only one church doing outreach (out of 6, including one of the oldest Catholic churches in Indy), there are still people helping each other everywhere.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

This store was no exception! Every time a law changes, we have to adapt, too. But the new system for distributing harm reduction supplies seemed to work just fine. Now we will adapt to the outdoor camping bans, somehow. Thank you for making sure we have what we need, so we can worry about logistics!

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

We try to keep this project dynamic and reflexive, staying adaptable in all things so we can respond directly to the needs of the folks we serve. It's never been about us finding something to do, it's always about meeting needs for the community. So each store is a little different from the last.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

The store was fantastic this weekend! We don't track who comes, but there were many new faces along with the folks we see every time. That tells us that we are meeting a definite need, and gives us an opportunity to meet and chat with more neighbors and learn how we can better serve the community.

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Reposted by The Old Southside Free Store

The Wandering Wizard @wndrngwzrd.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

This. Just looking at @freestoreindy.bsky.social numbers against the cost of one ALS 911 call in Indianapolis you all have saved tens of thousands in your community. More importantly you all have directly lifted up folks & saved lives. You all are heroes. Mutual aid & direct action work, period.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

And one day, when we need something, this resource will be here for us (and all other Old Southside community members) as well. That’s what we mean by “we take care of us.”

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

So how do people get what they need? Friends, neighbors, and people who support projects like The Free Store bring the help to them. Neighbors give what they can, and those in need receive it in a comfortable, hyper-local, judgment-free environment.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Many of the people who visit the pop up events haven’t voluntarily left this two-mile radius in years. If a resource isn’t *in* the Old Southside, it’s very unlikely to be used by Old Southside residents. In a lot of cases, that means help isn’t coming through official channels.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

What does “we take care of us” mean? It means our experience has shown that help via official channels for folks who are food/housing insecure is hard to access. That can be because of means testing, laws tied to past drug charges, negative experiences with govt., or a lack of nearby access points.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

We will carry our anarchist values & punk ethos into whatever form this ends up taking, & will always put the people we serve and their wellbeing and autonomy above *literally* anything else. We take care of us, and we do it our way because it works. We're so excited to see what this thing becomes!

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

We have (reluctantly, but knowing the need for sustainability & a roadmap forward, along with the power of perceived legitimacy/access to resources) applied for 501C3 status, and are in the process of growing our board of directors to be more diverse & knowledgable about the world of nonprofits.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Of course, there is limitation to what mutual aid can do. We are a small handful of punks & anarchists with limited means, & the need is bottomless. Our dream is for the free store to become a resource center located in the neighborhood so that people who never voluntarily leave can access help.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

More than anything, we couldn't watch our friends suffer when we have the time & other resources to at the very least help them access existing resources, if not directly providing mutual aid. Whether that's a hot meal, a warm blanket, or police-free, hyper-local, peer-led crisis response to an OD.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

With the urgency of the overdose crisis, rising homelessness, and increasingly deadly weather, we also want to make sure our friends live long enough to access those resources. We saw that existing resources were scarce and limited, had extensive backgrounds in mutual aid, & decided to do our thing.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Why the Old Southside? Well, mostly because we live here and have built truly beautiful relationships with our neighbors. Simply put: we have skin in the game here. We want to see our community and the people we love have access to resources.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

If you'd like to become a monthly donor (we are waiting on the government for 501c3 status, but it is in process), to learn more about us, or just because you like links, the website is: freestoreindy.org. Thank you so much for your interest in our little labor of love. Your support saves lives.

freestoreindy.org

Home | Old Southside Free Store

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

We have an Amazon wishlist (yeah, we know, but cheap is important here unfortunately): bit.ly/4t3zo27 where you can contribute to the store! We have already given away over $10,000 worth of supplies and food, and there is truly no way to quantify how many lives those have saved and improved.

bit.ly

Check out my list on Amazon

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

We recently ran the 4th official monthly pop up store (location and time are released via whisper networks bc we serve a vulnerable population & bc we set up in an area that is very high crime), and our first warm weather edition. Everything we give away is donated, and we cook a hot meal to share.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

In response, we started working with local projects like Overdose Lifeline and RATS Harm Redux to start intensive harm reduction work, and asked friends to help us contribute to supplies for our neighbors in need. The free store was ultimately born from those two projects converging.

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The Old Southside Free Store @freestoreindy.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Hey there! We are the folks who run the Old Southside Free Store. This project started in summer of 2025, when two things occurred: some of our housing insecure neighbors began to stop by and ask for supplies (water bottles, food, sunscreen, etc.), and opiate OD's increased dramatically.

A line of tables with ready to eat food, backpacks, and hygiene supplies on it, next to a hot food serving area and some folding chairs.

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