Hope - The Fresh Start Starfish

Hope - The Fresh Start Starfish

Hope represents the hope, love, encouragement, support, and new beginnings that participants receive in Fresh Start Court. Hope’s mission is to complete a journey, from coast to coast then return to Las Vegas, spreading Fresh Start hope, love, and encouragement along the way.

Our request is that you take Hope on one leg of her journey, and before you let her go, do a kind deed for a local non-profit in your community that serves people experiencing homelessness. Please post updates and pictures of your travels and kind acts so those of us who are tracking her journey can share in the joy.

Fresh Start Court is a specialty court of Las Vegas Municipal Court in Las Vegas, Nevada, specifically for individuals with misdemeanor cases in Municipal Court that are experiencing homelessness.  It is a program of hope and redemption. The program addresses the barriers that rendered an individual homeless and/or barriers keeping them homeless, which in most cases are many. The program is voluntary and individualized for each participant depending on their specific needs. The most common barriers include missing vital documents, substance use, mental health issues, trauma, medical issues, social isolation, and food insecurity. In order to graduate from Fresh Start Court, the participants must complete their treatment plan, and achieve stable housing and income. This process can take a year or more.

The program began as a pilot program in September 2020, right before the court’s second shutdown, resuming in March 2021. The program celebrated its first graduating class in March 2022, sending 8 participants off with a new Fresh Start, as contributing members of the community. The second graduation of 4 participants took place in October 2022. The third graduation is scheduled for March 30, 2023, and we hope to see some great acts of kindness with Hope before then.

Shortly before its first graduation, Fresh Start Court adopted the starfish, based on the Starfish Story by Loren Eiseley, as a symbol for hope and the premise that if we work together we can make a different to each person we encounter with the program.

You can watch the first Fresh Start Court graduation with this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ohJS7TSaFs