What we do.
Outpatient Outfitters provides clean clothing, in good condition, to area hospitals and transitional care facilities so every person leaving the hospital can do so fully clothed and in a dignified manner.
Who we serve.
Homeless or indigent people who find themselves in the hospital without clothing adequate to leave as the result of emergency treatment or instances in which a patient enters the hospital without appropriate clothing or when their clothing has been destroyed.
Our Story
Outpatient Outfitters was born out of a conversation with a nurse at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). Hospital staff frequently observe homeless patients being discharged in the clothing they arrived in, which is often inadequate for weather conditions and in extremely worn condition. Outpatient Outfitters founders were inspired to help; they cleaned out their own closets and delivered clothes to HCMC. In identifying this opportunity to help bridge a gap in the social welfare system, they shared this need with family and friends. The result was several generous offers of clothing and monetary donations resulting in numerous carloads of clothing being delivered to HCMC.
In November 2017, Outpatient Outfitters became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and made its first delivery of 7 boxes of clothing to HCMC. Since that date, Outpatient Outfitters has continued to grow and is regularly making deliveries once per week. At the end of 2018, Outpatient Outfitters began delivering clothing to Regions Hospital in St. Paul where there is a significant need to provide clothing to the homeless. We are excited to continue to expand this relationship.
As of July 2020, Outpatient Outfitters has delivered well over 300 bags of donated clothing to HCMC and Regions Hospital and has purchased and distributed thousands of dollars of additional clothing to the hospitals.