By Stephanie Springer - bio | email
Tifton, GA (WALB) – Today is national Homeless Persons Memorial Day. A new organization in our area held a special event to help feed those in need. They're putting a special emphasis on helping veterans.
Fresh Start Help Center is dedicated primarily to helping the homeless, veterans, and high school drop outs. The organization helps locate the resources these people need to become an independent part of the community.
For some of these folks, this is the first good meal they've had in quite a while. And these will be some of the warmest jackets they will ever put on.
But thanks to a new organization called "fresh Start Help Center" any person in need of clothing or a hot meal, was able to get one for free today at the Salvation Army in Tifton.
"Doing this, you want veterans and homeless to know somebody do care," said Fresh Start Help Center Inc. President Toney Clark.
Fresh Start is dedicated to helping out the Homeless, high school drop outs, and Veterans like Garland Ingram. "To me, today is like a Christmas I had when I was a young child," said Ingram.
President Toney Clark is a disabled Veteran himself. "I got hurt over 20 years ago and for 15 years my paperwork has been in appeal."
He also knows what it's like to be homeless. "Not where I've had to sleep under a bridge but where I've had to sleep in a 94 Honda prelude with a rooms to go blanket."
So he created the "Fresh Start Help Center" as a way to help out others in similar situations. "I didn't feel the services out here were being rendered to help veterans so I wanted to do it myself."
Along with the help of several other agencies, the center was able to put on this event for those in need of help.
"It's a nice feeling, kind of like you are back in the military in a way," Ingram said.
Tuesday he encountered a homeless Veteran who needed a way to get back to Dublin, and with a few phone calls Fresh Start was able to get him a Greyhound bus ticket to his destination.
Clark says his goal is to help put folks back into society and give everyone a fresh start.
Fresh Start has five programs..the assessment program, a veterans program, a program for the homeless, and one for high school drop outs.They also have what they call a "stay in touch program" where they follow you for several months to make sure you are on track
- If you would like more information on the Fresh Start Help Center, call 229-388-8776. You can also visit 222 East 2nd Street, Tifton, GA 31793.
- They are open nine to five, Monday to Friday, and seven to eight thirty in the evening on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month.
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