Today we’d like to introduce you to Omar Hamilton.
Hi Omar, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
About six years back in 2017 I had recently finished a seminar at Ascension Leadership Academy and came out of the program an inspired and capable individual. I went into the experience wanting out of my comfort zone and it helped those four months I saw myself and others pull off things people assume takes a month/s to prepare before action. As I was integrating back into my daily routine, I realized there was a lack of doing and being in my life and so it was time to take what I learned and unlearned during that course and execute. I stood in my power and channeled that burning urge that’s been in my heart since I was a child to help others and I took that step.
One day I posted on Facebook that I was going to donate part of my wardrobe to the men downtown and added if anyone would like to join me. The three beautiful people that responded were my friends Aaron, Matt, and Nicole. We drove to Downtown San Diego and set up one table and had about ten bags of donations. We four stood out there for about an hour and a half and all of the donations were given out. It was truly an amazing time with like-minded individuals who gave their time to giving back to those in need. We were able to talk to the houseless and veteran community and ask about their needs. Which gave us crystal clear insight of what needs to be done about the houseless issues plaguing San Diego and how veterans are landing on the streets. We did research over the years surveying and asking important questions and we discovered the missing link on how we can help the men and women in the streets of San Diego and its ‘resources’.
In the meantime, we started our Bimonthly clothes & food drive for the houseless community in Downtown San Diego. Over the months’ many communities and businesses came together, and it showed all of us is that we are capable of doing more for others. We were growing fast. We started with one table and at the peak having partnerships with other organizations, 8 tables, two canopies, fruits, and food donated from restaurants. Many amazing people who gave their time and donations until the pandemic shut us down and we were out of the streets for about a year and a half during that time we came up with an alternative to our clothes drive. We came up with Caravan clothes drive so to continue to help the community. We would arrive downtown masked, gloved up, and unloaded donations curbside with labels to let them know what’s in each bag. It wasn’t my favorite way of engaging with the community by dropping off and leaving, but we had to adapt.
We did this for about a year before we went back to our original setup and started to show up / setup again for our community. Which brings us to present day we’ve had countless successful clothes, food, and blanket drives and clothed countless men, women, and children over the stretch of almost six years (in March 2023). That being said, we always wanted to do more for the houseless and veteran population. How can we help bring down the houseless population in major metro cities? The answer is in our mission statement “Providing the resources to the home; so that the streets are no longer an option.” By making sure they have the resources (i.e., Beds, Couches, and Clothes) to make their homes (i.e.. section 8 /voucher or veteran) comfortable will help those in need of a fresh start a seamless integration back into society where they can focus on other aspects of their life.
It also means expansion for Fresh Start Foundation with us needing a storage unit and delivery truck. Everyone in our network and those of you reading this can donate to make that happen and with our new programs we will be providing donated furniture and clothes to veterans and at-risk youth and section 8 / vouchers directly to their door.
This year we are a registered Non-Profit Organization – Fresh Start Foundation organization will be an important asset to the community because everyone deserves a fresh start.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Honestly when we are providing to others, especially veterans who fought for this country and our freedom amongst so many others, is the easiest thing I believe a person can do besides sleeping. The struggles that we ran into was the quarantine that was tough so once there wasn’t any restrictions we got back out there because it’s our duty to look out for one another.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Non-Profit Organization based in San Diego assisting the veterans and at-risk youth, men, and women from returning back to the streets.
What makes you happy?
Seeing the smiles and relief in their faces when we unload our donations and tables is the reason why I do the clothes & food drive every other month. When you live on the street, they have to carry all of their possessions, or else they are robbed when they walk away from their spots. It’s hard for them to keep resources shoes and blankets from being stolen so we combat that with bimonthly and after March we will be doing it monthly. I do this not for them to be more comfortable being on the streets but to let them know we are here to help them get back up and into their own. They’re good ppl out there who are waiting to get placed in a home and if a small gesture of kindness like a slice of pizza and a jacket keeps their spirits up in between being placed in a home. Then I’m going to continue this work for decades to come we will continue helping get our Veterans and at-risk youth, men, women from being on the streets and into their homes.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: fsfsandiego
- Facebook: fresh start foundation
- Youtube: fsfsandiego
Image Credits
@blvckwolfmedia
