If you ever get the chance to meet Bud, you will love him instantly. Everyone does. When he first walked through the doors of Serve City in June 2025, his warm, gentle spirit was unmistakable. During the month and a half he stayed in our emergency shelter, he never caused a single bit of trouble. He was polite, hardworking, and easy to root for. After his stay in the shelter, Bud moved forward into our program to live at our transitional housing apartments. Behind his warm sm

As the holiday season approaches, many of us look forward to the comfort of gathered families, warm meals, and the security of home. But for neighbors in our community who are navigating homelessness, that sense of stability can feel entirely out of reach. This year, Serve City is proud to be featured in the Hamilton Community Foundation’s 2026 Holiday Giving Hub for our Home for the Holidays Campaign. Every dollar raised through this campaign directly fuels our Transitional

Every single day, our building is filled with purpose, movement, and heart. Our staff and dedicated volunteers pour their energy into uplifting our neighbors. Whether that means providing shelter, serving warm meals, offering pantry essentials, or simply standing beside someone walking through their hardest season. Doing front-line community work is profoundly rewarding, but it is also demanding. Compassion requires real emotional and physical stamina. There is an old, simpl

Every morning when we open our doors in Hamilton, we meet neighbors who are fighting an uphill battle just to rebuild their lives. For someone trying to get back on their feet, that journey always begins with the absolute basics: a warm meal, clean clothes, and a safe place to lay their head. A few weeks ago, I watched a man named Karan take those first steps. Without a job, even having food and clothes seemed impossible. In just two weeks, with the right support, Karan made

Sometimes, provision shows up in the most ordinary ways. It doesn’t always come with loud announcements or grand gestures. More often than not, it pulls into the parking lot on a routine afternoon. A couple of years ago, a woman we will call "Mary", drove into the lot, stepped out of her car, and asked a simple question: “What are your most needed items right now?” Oda, one of our dedicated staff members who handles much of the cooking, didn't hesitate. She had been praying s

The doors of Serve City swung open today to the unmistakable, mouth-watering aroma of fresh burgers and piping-hot pizzas. Carrying the boxes was a group of twenty-somethings full of energy and purpose, accompanied by a young couple holding the hand of their little daughter. It was an ordinary afternoon transformed into something unforgettable. When you are walking through hardship or navigating shelter life, hunger is only part of the burden. An even heavier weight is invisi

On World Homelessness Day, we are reminded to look beyond the surface of a crisis When an individual loses their physical dwelling, they also lose the familiar networks and connections that anchor them to society. Friends, neighbors, and family can drift away, leaving them isolated and cut off. This isolation compounds the struggle of survival, making challenges like mental health struggles or unemployment nearly impossible to overcome alone. True stability requires more tha

If you’ve spent any time driving through Hamilton, you probably saw him. He was the man walking along the shoulder of the road, head down, pulling a rusted shopping cart or a makeshift wagon behind him. Packed into that wagon was everything Joe owned in this world. For a long time, the walls of a shelter felt too confining, and navigating relationships with others felt too overwhelming. So, more often than not, Joe disappeared into the tree line, retreating to a nylon tent in

Every community has defining moments, but the true heartbeat of a place like Serve City isn't just in the walls of our building...it’s in the people. It’s in the stories of transformation, resilience, and the relentless pursuit of a better life. Today, we want to celebrate one of our own: Amber Johnson, affectionately known to all of us as "AJ." Her journey is a powerful reminder of what happens when determination meets opportunity, and when a person refuses to let their past

A piece of duct tape across the knee of a pair of jeans. Another strip wrapped around the sole of a pair of cloth house slippers just to keep the fabric from separating. A length of rope tied around the waist in place of a belt. Walking through Serve City’s Blessing Bag Boutique and Pantry, you expect to see food moving across counters and clothes being folded. But today, when I stopped by to check in on our team, that specific scene caught my eye: a volunteer kneeling beside

For many of us, the idea of "home" is a memory we can trace back to childhood. But for "Josh" and "Mary", home was never a four-walled structure of safety. It was an unreachable idea they had spent their entire lives running after. Josh first came through the doors of Serve City when he was 24, but his housing crisis started the moment he turned 18. Caught in and out of the juvenile justice system as a teenager, he had never known true stability. With severe mental health str

True community transformation often begins with a single moment of awareness, an unexpected encounter that breaks your heart and changes the course of your life forever. For the founder of The Highly Favored Foundation, Alberta Ablordeppey, that defining moment happened in the parking lot of a local Kroger. A Journey from Ghana to a Life-Changing Encounter Long before founding The Highly Favored Foundation, Alberta grew up in Ghana, West Africa, raised by a resilient widowed

When a person has spent years trapped in the exhausting cycle of housing insecurity, the road ahead can look impossibly steep. For "Steve," a man in his early 40s with a long, painful history of experiencing homelessness, stability had felt out of reach for a very long time. Steve first came through the doors of Serve City back in 2019. Over the years, the systemic and personal weight of chronic housing instability repeatedly pulled him back into crisis, eventually leading hi

Serve City names Dustin Bowman as Executive Director. At Serve City, we believe that true transformation happens when hope meets opportunity. Today, we are overjoyed to share an exciting milestone in our organization’s story: Dustin Bowman has officially been appointed as Serve City’s new Executive Director! Dustin’s appointment is more than a leadership announcement. Dustin's story is a living testament to our mission of restoring dignity, rebuilding community, and renewin

In a world that often celebrates independence and self-reliance, the reality of human struggle tells a very different story. We were never meant to walk through life’s darkest valleys alone. Whether navigating the weight of sudden crisis, processing deep personal loss, or facing the chronic stress of poverty and homelessness, the human heart craves a place to belong. At Serve City, we witness every day that true healing doesn't happen in isolation it happens in community. Tra