Al-amin Muhammad sets up for a food giveaway at Billings Park in September. | Kristi Russo, Special to The Stand

Al-amin Muhammad’s Sandwich Saturdays can draw as many as 200 people on an average Saturday morning

‘Sandwich Saturdays’ effort to feed Syracuse’s homeless

Every weekend in Syracuse, New York, it’s Sandwich Saturday. Starting at 10:00 am, granola bars, chips, and sandwiches are assembled in lunch kits, ready to go to those who need them most.

Dozens of volunteers mobilize every Saturday to help Syracuse’s cold and hungry, under the leadership of Alamin Muhammad. The volunteers head out and set up under a bridge, and during this particularly cold winter, it’s not just food they’re giving away. Jackets and hygiene kits are also handed out in his current office on Syracuse’s North Side.

But it’s more than the food and clothing that the needy of Syracuse get every Saturday. They also get a human connection – bonds that are difficult to form on the street.

“At the end of the week, when I don’t have too much money — to come down here and get a meal, some hot cocoa, and all the people come together and we talk, and we network. So, everybody can help each other out,” one man said.
Sandwich Saturdays are part of the nonprofit We Rise Above the Streets. The name describes Muhammad’s life.
“When I was in the streets, homeless, really hopeless, there was a lot of people walking past me like I was invisible,” he said.

Muhammad, once homeless himself, was surprised by Syracuse’s homelessness and poverty and wanted to help when he moved here from Georgia.

His path to homelessness began early when he joined a gang as a teenager in his hometown of Chicago.
“I started selling drugs, started getting into violence. I got shot several times, like twice on different occasions,” Muhammad said.

After multiple arrests, Muhammad ended up in prison. There he says he found God and converted to Islam. Muhammad knew when he got out, he couldn’t go back to his former life. Just like the homeless he now helps, he found someone to turn to, a caseworker in a detox center.

“He told me ‘Alamin, I believe in you. And I believe that you are going to get out of this condition. You’re going to help a lot of people in this world.'”

That belief was enough. Muhammad got back on his feet and became a drug counselor. He got married and lives in Syracuse with his wife Nasirah. Together they are working to help the people in Syracuse. Every Saturday you’ll find them under the bridge giving clothing, hope, and a sandwich.

“And I’m going to continue to do this work, and I’m going to continue to fight, and I’m going to continue to say ‘come’ to people out here because somebody trusted me, and somebody believed in me, and they saved me.”

Ben Walsh, mayor of Syracuse, met Muhammad in 2017 during his campaign. Since then, the two have developed a friendship. Walsh believes Muhammad’s story is compelling and worth telling.

He pointed out that Muhammad has been very open about his past struggles and can relate to the people he’s serving.
“We are lucky in this community that we have many people supporting others,” Walsh said. “Through his personal experience, he brings a special element that makes us stronger to help people in need.”

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