LEXINGTON, Ky. — After spending time in prison, a Lexington business owner dedicates his time to supporting vulnerable people in the city.

Andre Wilson with DAW cleaning services is known as a pressure washer by trade and an advocate, mentor and nonprofit creator by the community.

Almost 30 years ago, he was incarcerated for almost six years. Wilson says to this day, his time behind bars permanently changed him. “I wasn’t coming out of prison, the same way I went in,” Wilson said.

It’s why he picked up the trade and began helping others.

Wilson is also the founder of Seize Your Given Opportunities Inc. helping individuals who are homeless, survivors of violence, and more find work.

“I’ve had the opportunity to give back to the community by hiring disadvantaged people coming out of prison.” Wilson said. “People in the Hope Center, the rescue mission, [people] that’s homeless and just down on their luck.”

Wilson’s other special concern is for Lexington’s youth. He says in 1998 a young man much like himself encouraged him to become a mentor for young people.

“I came across something so narrow one day, that a young man, 15 years old, was in trouble and he was going to Henry Clay and he quit school and his mother would come to me and ask me, could I mentor him.”

Eventually he dedicated his life to helping others through dozens of other organizations, including Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, the ACLU of Kentucky and, more recently, the Downtown Peacekeepers Initiative. 

“You can take your goal and your dream and become successful. I never thought about it in a million years that I can take home $150, $200,000 over $300,000 washing bricks and washing vinyls and pressure washing.” 

Wilson says what was once hard for him to imagine is something he now helps others reach for themselves. 

In 2023, Wilson received a full pardon from Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., and is an advocate for voting rights for former felons.