Restoring Dignity One Load At A Time: Retired Cop Creates Mobile Laundry Service For Homeless

Wade Milyard worked as a police officer in Frederick, Maryland for nearly 20 years and planned to retire from the force in January 2025. As retirement approached, he had no idea what he was going to do next.

In his final year as a police officer, he and his partner were called to a domestic dispute with a homeless couple living in a tent. "As we were leaving the campsite, God put it in my heart to ask a simple question: where do you do your laundry?" And that was where the idea of "Fresh Step Laundry" first began to take shape.

Fresh Step Laundry provides free laundry service to Frederick's unhoused population via a mobile laundry vehicle that conveniently meets individuals wherever they are. The organization officially began serving the homeless community on September 4th, 2025 following the retrofitting of a donated, transport van with three, front-load washers and three, front-load dryers. The vehicle is affectionately named "Leaky Lucy."

Interested in supporting Fresh Step Laundry? You can learn more at the organization's website at https://www.freshsteplaundry.com/.