{"id":319252,"date":"2026-06-02T14:59:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T14:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/319252\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T14:59:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T14:59:20","slug":"one-mans-treasure-outfits-the-formerly-incarcerated-for-a-new-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/319252\/","title":{"rendered":"One Man’s Treasure outfits the formerly incarcerated for a new life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Courtesy of Metro Creative Connection<\/p>\n

Volunteers at One Man\u2019s Treasure<\/a> ask you to close your eyes and imagine walking out of state or federal prison. As the gates clink behind you, look down at the items you\u2019ve received upon release \u2014 one used shirt, one pair of pants, one pair of shoes, $100 and a bus ticket. How do you begin to reenter society? Where will you find housing and a job? Who will give you a second chance?<\/p>\n

One Man\u2019s Treasure is a nonprofit founded in 2005 by Mary Carter, who volunteered in her church\u2019s clothes closet and with Kairos Prison Ministry<\/a>. She noticed that men were leaving prison with almost nothing to get back on their feet, so she began collecting clothing donations in her living room and distributing them \u00a0\u2014 one man at a time.<\/p>\n

Lake Highlands neighbor Andrew Hamilton has been involved with the Kairos Prison Ministry for more than half his life, and he saw the impact it makes when men feel seen or acknowledged. He began volunteering with One Man\u2019s Treasure, and he recently joined their board.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love this mission because it helps take care of our brothers,\u201d he says. \u201cFor someone to respect them and listen to them and treat each one like a person \u2014 that\u2019s a gift.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon release, each person receives a full set of clothing in their size, including short- and long-sleeved shirts, pants, jeans, button down shirt with tie, shoes or work boots, new underwear, socks and seasonal items such as jackets or coats. The kit is hand-delivered by an \u201cOMT Shepherd\u201d who visits the client and speaks with them to give encouragement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that we call the men we serve \u2018clients,\u2019\u201d Hamilton says. \u201cI don\u2019t think that anyone would say that being called an \u2018inmate\u2019 every day is fun. When I call someone a client, that gives them a great sense of dignity. Our clients are extremely grateful for the personalized set of clothing they receive, and they feel confident in what they are wearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Incarcerated men living inside Texas prisons receive a clean pair of white elastic-waist pants and a white shirt two or three times per week. Though they are freshly laundered, they rarely fit. Because they long to have well-fitting clothes, many will keep back at least one nice set and wash those themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe the clothing we provide gives them a sense of dignity that is lost when you are in prison,\u201d explains Hamilton. \u201cEach set of clothes is hand-picked for each man based on his size, job prospects, goals and even his favorite colors to ensure that what he receives truly feels like his clothing, not some random, ill-fitting hand-me downs. You\u2019d be amazed at how many of the men say, \u2018anything but white!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamilton has been impressed by the dedication and generosity of donors at the annual gala and by golfers at the October golf tournament in Grapevine. The biggest challenge, he says, is awareness. Most potential donors \u00ad\u00ad\u2014 even many potential recipients \u2014 have never heard of One Man\u2019s Treasure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no mistake that part of our logo is a starfish,\u201d he says. \u201cYou know the story. An old man is walking on the beach picking up starfish and throwing them back into the water. Another man comes along and asks, \u2018Why are you doing this, there are thousands of starfish, and you can\u2019t possibly make a difference.\u2019 The man picks one up and throws it in the water. \u2018Made a difference for that one.\u2019 We can\u2019t help everyone coming home from prison, but it makes a tremendous difference for the ones we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

You may contribute to OMT here<\/a>. You may apply to become a recipient here<\/a>. You (and\/or your group) may volunteer here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Courtesy of Metro Creative Connection Volunteers at One Man\u2019s Treasure ask you to close your eyes and imagine…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319253,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[160,162,161],"class_list":["post-319252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-plano","tag-plano","tag-plano-headlines","tag-plano-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}