Fresh Start

20th Anniversary Benefit Concert

Metropolitan Fresh Start House is presenting 2 great nights of Gospel singing will be performed at the Phillip & Sala Burton High School 900+ seat auditorium August 1 and 2, 2008.  Map 

This benefit concert is being presented as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the Metropolitan Fresh Start House.  Fresh Start has been a pillar in the San Francisco community for transforming the lives of men being set free from substance abuse.

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A professional DVD will be produced of the concert showcasing the reunion of Renaissance the legendary accapella group along with featured artist Wayburn Dean & George Pendergrass former vocalists of Acappella.

Tickets for the show and advance sales of the DVD can be purchased by contacting Fresh Start.

The proceeds will go to the Metropolitan Fresh Start House.

News & Updates

God has been blessing the Metropolitan Fresh Start House to expand in order to serve more clients.  We now have Fresh Start III located in Oakland, California, and Fresh Start IV located in San Jose, California.  More details of these bountiful blessing are included in the newletter insert link:

Download newsletter_2007_insert.pdf

Fresh Start has also teamed up with Dr. Barbara Le'Moore of Healthy Alternatives for the 21st Century of Los Angeles to provide state of the art health services for clients of Fresh Start.  Dr. Le'Moore recently conducted a FREE lecture series at Fresh Start, San Francisco, on Healthy Alternatives and Body Detoxification, and introduced services to help detox the body.  She offered Fresh Start clients FREE Ionic Foot Bath Spa services, the pROSHI brain tuner, and the Far Infrared Sauna along with cleansing products made from sea vegetation to help clean toxins out of the body. 

Dr. Le'Moore is currently planning to open Healthy Alternatives of Northern California to provide much needed services to people looking for way to experience better health.

For more information log on to

http://www.healthyalternatives21stcentury.com/

Graduation

On March 18, 2007 Metropolitan Fresh Start held its first graduation of 2007.  It was a special celebration attended by notable guests friends and family, and of course the graduates of the Metropolitan Fresh Start program.  Kehinde Madison, Randy Wallace, Siliva Mortenson, and Ernest Calvin celebrated the completion of their programs.  The Fresh Start graduation services are always special.  It's a time when people get a glimpse into where Fresh Start is at and where Fresh Start is heading.  There were brief presentations by many of the staff of Fresh Start, as well as by other associates of the Metropolitan Fresh Start Ministry.

The greatest part of the program came near the end, when founder and director Kinwood DeVore asked that the family members of each graduate come to the front and share what it meant to have their loved one complete this program.  It was a time of intense emotion as one by one, family members shared of the pain in and devastation their loved one had caused them because of their addiction.  But then came the heartfelt joy and thankfulness for the tremendous changes that had transformed the life of their loved one.  That's what Fresh Start is all about; giving men a fresh start in live and changing them so they in turn can have an impact in changing their families.

Holidays & New Year

The holiday time brings about a real challenge for those who have lost loved ones because it is a time of joy, a time to spend with family doing family things like exchanging gifts, preparing and eating dinner together, and just being with those who we love so much. 

Unfortunately, that is not the case with those caught up in addiction; the holidays mean something different - a time of grief.  The grieving over so much loss of time, life, energy, misdirected love, and devastation.  One client made it plain in a poem he wrote to his daughter:

The time I've waisted is my biggest regret, spent in places I'll never forget.  Just sitting and thinking about the things I've done, the crying, the laughing, the hurt and the fun.  Now it's just me and my county guilt, behind a wall that I allow to be built.  I'm trapped in this body, just wanting to run...  back to my youth with its laughter and fun.  But the chase is over and there's no place to hide.  Now everything's gone including my pride.

Now reality is suddenly right in my face.  I'm frustrated, alone and stuck in this place.  Memories of my past flash through my head, and the pain is obvious from the tears that I shed.  Sometimes I wonder where I went wrong... I guess I was weak when I should've been strong.  As I pretended to be rugged, and stupid butt cool, when actually lost and blinded I was a stupid butt fool.

I think I'm getting too old for these tiresome games; acting so hard like I'm never ashamed.  It's time that I move on and make a change in my life, fulfilling my dreams for a family with a wife.  What my future will hold I really don't know...but the time that I've waisted is starting to show.

I just pray for the day I can get a new start, and the dreams I have for you and me, I still hold deep in my heart.  I hope that I can make it at least I have to try.. cause I'm headed toward death, and I don't wanna' die.

Love,

Daddy

This is why we struggle to keep the Fresh Start House open, so men can have a fresh start.

New Fresh Start Video

Here is the like to view the new Fresh Start video - short version. 

http://mmvideoscrapbook.com/Video/KDonline.wmv

Donations

At Fresh Start we do all we can to help the men experience a home-like environment.  Unfortunately, around the holidays, depression is a real factor our clients have to deal with during the Christmas season.   

We at the Metropolitan Fresh Start House are in need of donations especially around the Christmas Holiday Season.  Please consider making a donation to this great work.

Metropolitan Fresh Start House, P.O. Box 12190, San Francisco, CA 94112 - (415) 760-9320

Fresh Start Provides a Fresh Start.

People are who they are because of the way they think; change thinking, change a person, change a family, change a community, change the world one person at a time.  Fresh Start is about impacting the lives of men so change can take place. 

The Metropolitan Fresh Start House is a faith-based non-profit 501(c)(3) 24-hour live-in drug & alcohol recovery/restoration treatment facility for men in need of life-changing experiences.  We service men who have addictions, substance abuse problems, and men who are homeless as well as those in need of a fresh start in life.  Our main focus is treating our clients with the utmost respect to let them know that they are important and valuable as we work to restore them back to men of dignity.

One client "Mr. Keeper" who came to us while in custody through a State funded program, had only 90 days to make his re-entry transition back into society.  He had been in his addiction for more than 25 years going in and out of prison and just did not care.  His parole officer said that he had a habit of putting on his NIKE's and walking away from any program he was assigned to.  When Mr. Keeper arrived at Fresh Start, he immediately saw something different and decided on his own to stay.

When Mr. Keeper's 90 days were up, he needed more time to work on his recovery, but no more funding was available.  Fresh Start requested and received authorization for an additional 90 days for Mr. Keeper, but the contracting agency re-nigged.  Any other program would have put Mr. Keeper out in the streets, but Fresh Start kept him because of his value as a person, and he had become part of a family who cared about him.  Mr. Keeper started working with a roofer, continued doing odd jobs and worked his way up to a union position where he is now making a good salary.

Fresh Start gave Mr. Keeper an opportunity to continue working on his recovery and re-entry into society as a productive citizen.  This is the work we do and we need support to continue to help people like Mr. Keeper.  He is one less parolee who is in the community committing crimes to get what he needed by "any means necessary."  Mr. Keeper has now moved from tax burden to tax payer, a transition that we hope all our clients who come through Fresh Start will eventually make. 

Welcome to the Fresh Start Blog

This is a new venue for the Metropolitan Fresh Start ministry!  We plan to tell the ongoing story of Fresh Start and keep you up to date on the latest news and happenings at Fresh Start!