Who We Are
Since 1979, FISH (Friends in Service Helping) has been a multi-faceted nonprofit dedicated to providing a HAND UP, not a handout, to low income individuals and families and homeless in our area. Our mission is to empower people to move toward stability and self-sufficiency, not dependency.
Why We’re Different
We partner with and train medical, nursing, and social work students, giving them valuable real-world experiences while strengthening our impact in the community. With the support of over 30 employees and more than 400 volunteers, we provide Food, Instruction, Shelter, Healthcare, and other critical services without dependency on government funding.
Our recently built Student Housing supports individuals pursuing careers in trades, technology, medicine, and social work—helping them achieve long-term success. This adds to our emergency and transitional housing programs.
Our food banks and family dining room have provided more than 550,000 meals in the last twelve months and our utility assistance program has kept the heat and lights on for those in crisis by annually covering more than $100,000 in utility bills.
How We Impact the Community
FISH provides direct services and referrals, connecting people to essential resources, providing a higher quality of life for families, children, veterans, seniors, and people with disabilities in our region. Dignity Cards, an alternative to giving money to panhandlers, guide individuals to FISH, where they can find compassionate support and the tools they need to make lasting changes.
At FISH, our goal is simple: provide critical services for those in need and walk alongside those who are able, helping them achieve independence and build brighter futures.
In the late 70's, churches provided nearly all social services helping those in need or those stranded in the region. Several churches joined forces to form FISH. They helped fund FISH and referred those in need to our food bank and referral service. In 1985, FISH opened a Family Dining Room to augment our foodbanks, to feed those without the means to cook and safely store food. In 2012 we began utility assistance to our services.
In 1987, when a homeless man was found dead and frozen in an alley, so our homeless shelters and transitional shelters were developed. In 2024, our Student Housing was added to the mix.
In 1992, a local physician, Charlie Ross decided that Carson City needed a free medical clinic and FISH was the best organization to partner with. So the Ross Medical Clinic, staffed with volunteer doctors and nurses, began providing medical services for low-income, uninsured clients/patients. We have expanded to provide dental and eye care too.
