Our Mission and Vision

ReShelter - Firstly started as a school service as action project, but then when service ended, passion for the project grew. Homelessness in Switzerland is a huge problem, around 2,500 people were estimated homeless in Switzerland as a whole, and 8,000+ people are considered at risk of losing their home (Le News, 2022). Seeing as these numbers are likely underestimates, there is a lot of work to be done. Our goal is to not only be local; in Switzerland, but to also if possible make this an international NPO that can be trusted by many.

Founded by Maurits Wessels and Anthony Ottinger, and our Social Media Manager Marie-Louise Wessels, our team consists of motivated, innovative and forward thinking individuals that have a clear goal in mind: to tackle the global homeless crisis one bit at a time, and doing the most we can with the opportunities that we have been given.

How can we put all of this into practice? Well, at ReShelter, we plan to reuse and recycle tents that have been left at festivals, which is often an extremely overlooked source of textile waste. After collecting, cleaning, and repairing the tents, we then donate them to local homeless shelters, but not always are the tents repairable. That is why when the tents are beyond repair, we refurbish them into everyday items which gives the waste a second life! All of the purchases from the website are then donated to homeless shelters, helping provide food, clothing, and safe housing for those in need.