Non-profit steps up with clothes for unhoused teen heading to college

LOS ANGELES - It was a shopping haven for a college-bound teen in need. 18-year-old Jeremiah Armstead is homeless and was flying out the next day to Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, after a flurry of support from several non-profits.

The non-profit Make Good Inc. opened the doors to its retail shop so Armstead could get some new clothes.

Make Good Inc. runs a retail shop for at-risk youth, gathering new clothing, toiletries and books to hand out for free. Dressing a 6-foot-5-inch basketball player last minute was a bit of a scramble.

Almost everything is brand new and founder Ruth Stalford is quick to note that it is not a thrift store.  She says, "it's a value statement."

Armstead was staying at a domestic violence shelter when the non-profit Sisters of Watts made it their mission in July to get him into a college for the fall semester.

SUGGESTED: Homeless teen earns spot on HBCU basketball team

The non-profit We Educate Brilliant Minds stepped in and got him accepted at HBCU Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, with just weeks to go before the fall semester. The Long Beach Polytechnic High School grad will also play on the Fisk basketball team.

"I've been homeless since my freshman sophmore year," says Armstead. His high school coach gave him his basketball shoes.

Make Good Inc. runs The Emporium in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles. Armstead picked out everything from sweats, to khaki pants matched with white Vans shoes, to a suit coat for events. They even gave him a suitcase!

Armstead flew out the next day to Nashville, Tennessee carrying a fashionable new bag he'd picked out from Make Good Inc.

Foster Nation for foster youth referred Armstead to Make Good Inc.