Wade Milyard Turned a Retired Police Bus Into Free Laundry for Frederick's Unhoused

Wade Milyard Jr. spent more than twenty years in law enforcement in Frederick, Maryland, much of it as a K-9 handler with the Frederick Police Department. The job regularly brought him into contact with people who had no stable place to live, including those staying in camps around the city.

The idea for his later work began on an ordinary call. Milyard has said he was responding to a domestic dispute at a homeless encampment when he felt prompted to ask the people there about their laundry. Speaking to WJLA, he said he believes God told him to ask.

The answer stayed with him. A woman at the camp told him she washed her clothes in a nearby creek and hung them on fences to dry. Milyard later learned how much clean clothing matters for things like job interviews and medical appointments, and he began to see laundry as a basic need that many people simply could not meet.

Before committing, Milyard asked people experiencing homelessness whether they would actually use a free laundry service. He told reporters he never once heard no.

According to the organization's own history, he founded Fresh Step Laundry in the summer of 2024 while still on the force. It is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. He retired from the police department in January 2025 and turned his attention to building the service.

The vehicle is a renovated police activities bus nicknamed Lucy, not a trailer or truck. Milyard and his father-in-law spent months retrofitting it, often working ten to twelve hour days, until it held three washers, three dryers, and basic supplies for the people it serves.

He did not do it alone. Police1 reported donations from the Fraternal Order of Police, local nonprofits, and community members, and CBS News reported that the work is paid for with his own money along with donations. On Thursdays, Fresh Step teams up with Living Water Shower Ministry so people can shower and do laundry at the same stop.

The organization says regular service began on September 4, 2025. Reports that fall described the bus stopping at sites in Frederick, including On Our Own of Frederick County and the Frederick Moose Lodge, several days a week. CBS News reported that the bus handles dozens of loads each week.

Sabrina Hancock of Living Water Shower Ministry told WJLA that there were essentially no laundry options nearby for the people they serve, and that a laundromat, when there is one, is often unaffordable. For someone heading to a job interview or a doctor's visit, a clean set of clothes can make it easier to walk in with some confidence.

Local and national outlets, including CBS News and WBUR's Here and Now, have covered the work. Milyard has said that if clean clothes help people even a little, his mission is fulfilled. He has also spoken of hoping to add a second bus focused on students whose families lack stable housing, since school may be the one consistent place in their lives. That plan had not been reported as completed.