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Bringing Hope to the Hopeless | Business with Purpose EP 296: Garrett Underwood, The Seed House Project

Bringing Hope to the Hopeless | Business with Purpose EP 296: Garrett Underwood, The Seed House Project

Bringing Hope to the Hopeless | Business with Purpose EP 296: Garrett Underwood, The Seed House Project

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  • Bringing Hope to the Hopeless | Business with Purpose EP 296: Garrett Underwood, The Seed House Project
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Click a timestamp below to be taken to the exact spot in the episode…

My guest this week is Garrett Underwood, Founder/Executive Director of Seed House Project, a live-work home for at-risk youth. He is also the owner of Malachi Clothing, a well-known Christian Clothing company in Southern California. 

Garrett oversees all programs within the Seed House Project. His goal is to reinvent the transition for youth to adulthood using technology and new innovative ideas to create change within the homelessness in LA.

He has now housed more than 100 people, and he has created hope for each person who walks through his home. 

3:10 – Garrett 101

  • He started with a clothing company and gave hygiene packages to homeless people. 
  • His heart expanded and he wanted to do more to help homeless people. 

4:39 – The fixer

  • When Garrett sees a problem, he wants to try to fix it. 
  • He moved into a trailer for six months with no running water and got to see what other people experienced, like loneliness and embarrassment.

8:55 – Homeless issue

  • Garrett visited skid row when he was 20, and he previously visited homeless shelters.
  • He has always loved kids, and especially wanted to help them. 

12:55 – Common threads

  • Garrett started seeing common threads of things that made it difficult for people to improve their lives.
  • His definition of homelessness is not the absence of a home or a building. His definition of homelessness is the absence of hope.

19:36 – Finding your purpose

  • Garrett tries to convince people they have talent and purpose in this world. 
  • People need to have powerful experiences that change and expand their worldview. 

23:37 – Myths about homelessness

  • Not every homeless person is an addict. 

28:48 – Seed House

  • Seed House is a live-work space for at-risk youth. 
  • They offer wrap around services, such as credit building and instant employment. 

31:15 – Five-step roadmap

  • The roadmap is a snapshot of the 90-day course.
  • Everyone has a story, and you are an expert about your own life. 

35:39 – Get to know you

  • Guilty pleasure? Painting and sculpture
  • What makes him laugh? His niece. 

FEATURED QUOTES

My definition of homelessness is not the absence of a home, a building. I think the definition of homelessness is the absence of hope. 

I’m a fixer. When I see a problem, I want to try to fix it. 

Not every homeless person is an addict.

CONNECT:

  • https://seedhouseproject.org/
  • https://storychanger.ck.page/798575d5e7

Thank you to our partner of the show!

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About Garrett Underwood: 

Garrett Underwood is currently the Executive Director of Seed House Project, a Live/Work home or at-risk youth. His position entails overseeing daily operations, meeting financial quota, and most importantly managing all programs within the organization. Some of the programs consist of; Self actualization development, Business or Non – Profit Execution plan, Credit building, Financial literacy and Emotional Intelligence Development.

Mr. Underwood received his Masters at Azusa Pacific for Organizational Behavior &

Development. Previously before attending Azusa he started a Faith- Based Clothing Company called Malachi Clothing. The business model was “ buy one give one” for every purchase a hygiene kit was given away to someone in need, In return the customer would receive a free prayer bracelet with the name of the person that received the care package. The company partners with over 50 shelters & group homes across Los Angeles, and gave over ten thousand care packages a year. Unfortunately the demands of recourse increased and care packages wasn’t enough to fulfill the need, which lead Mr. Underwood to make a major shift in his career.

In 2016 Mr. Underwood decided to dive deeper in the homeless crisis in Los Angeles. He

volunteered at all the major organizations within Los Angeles, The Dream Center, My Friends Place and PATH ( People Assisting The Homeless) to name a few. Two years later Mr. Underwood became the lead Coordinator for the Homeless Outreach for all over the Los

Angeles Country as well as the Program Manager at PATH. He also took on as the lead site counselor at Covenant house, the leading housing program for homeless youth in Los Angeles.

During his experience he began to see a common thread within the many different issues within the homeless crises in Los Angeles. He noticed lack of affordable housing was a big issue but he also took note of the physiology of hope. Those that had something to look forward to, whether a job, school or family 90% of them either obtained or maintained their housing.

This static led Mr. Underwood developed an employment program that created purpose.

Working with the shelters he previously partnered with, he conducted workshops around storytelling and the impact one story can have. The participants would have the opportunity to share their story within the jewelry they created. The jewelry was then distributed to stores across LA, therefore sharing their story to hundreds of people. This created purpose and employment. Within the first year Mr. Underwood was able to employ over 98 individuals. The one other issue he couldn’t solve was affordable housing. He decided to donate his home and move into a trailer to meet the need in whatever way he could. He was able to house 16 people at a time.

Three years later Mr. Underwood has now housed over a 100 people and created hope for each person that walks through his home. He has perfected the art of finding one’s purpose with extensive assessment tools and a curriculum to how you can turn your purpose into a program to serve others.

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Spam texts are like a box of chocolates… I just start replying with Forrest Gump quotes ‘til they leave me alone. #spamtexts #lifeislikeaboxofchocolates

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Spam texts are like a box of chocolates… I just start replying with Forrest Gump quotes ‘til they leave me alone. #spamtexts #lifeislikeaboxofchocolates

He is risen indeed! ✝️

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He is risen indeed! ✝️

It’s wild out here in these pollen streets. #thepollening 🤧

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It’s wild out here in these pollen streets. #thepollening 🤧

🎊 ONE WHOLE YEAR 🎉

My debut memoir, “If I Don’t Laugh, I’ll Cry” has been out in the world for one whole year today. Writing this book was hard and holy work, and it’s been such a joy to see how many of you have laughed, cried, and laughed till you cried.

Thank you for the support of this book. ❤️

If you’ve read it, would you do me a *huge* favor and leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads? And would you share the book with a friend or on social media? It would mean the world to me.

And if you haven’t picked up a copy or downloaded the audiobook yet, what are you waiting for? 😉

#ifidontlaughillcry #iidlic #nelsonbooks

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🎊 ONE WHOLE YEAR 🎉 

My debut memoir, “If I Don’t Laugh, I’ll Cry” has been out in the world for one whole year today. Writing this book was hard and holy work, and it’s been such a joy to see how many of you have laughed, cried, and laughed till you cried. 

Thank you for the support of this book. ❤️

If you’ve read it, would you do me a *huge* favor and leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads? And would you share the book with a friend or on social media? It would mean the world to me. 

And if you haven’t picked up a copy or downloaded the audiobook yet, what are you waiting for? 😉 

#ifidontlaughillcry #iidlic #nelsonbooks

Nine is fine! Happy birthday to the sweetest, kindest, funniest, smartest, best basketball playing boy we know! We love you, buddy roe!

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Nine is fine! Happy birthday to the sweetest, kindest, funniest, smartest, best basketball playing boy we know! We love you, buddy roe!

13 years of being married to the best man I know. Life with you is more than I ever could have dreamed. I love you, J. 🤍 #happyanniversary

📷 @katelynjames

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13 years of being married to the best man I know. Life with you is more than I ever could have dreamed. I love you, J. 🤍 #happyanniversary 

📷 @katelynjames

And the people of God said… AMEN!

#leviticus #allfatisthelords #biblerecap #biblehumor

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And the people of God said… AMEN! 

#leviticus #allfatisthelords #biblerecap #biblehumor

I often wonder if he’d be a red head like Amos or if he’d be musically gifted like Lilly.

Would he love snuggling or be a boy who only wanted hugs on his terms?

Would his eyes be brown like his dad’s or would he be covered in freckles?

What would his laugh sound like? Who would be his best friend? What would his favorite book be? Would he say Gen Alpha slang words like sigma and skibidi or would he love his mom too much to do that?

Would I be mommy or mama or mom to him?

So many questions I won’t get to answers to on this side of heaven. But I think about him today, just like every day, and I hope he’s getting a slice of strawberry cake for his heavenly birthday.

7 years. 🤍 #elijahtimothy

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I often wonder if he’d be a red head like Amos or if he’d be musically gifted like Lilly. 

Would he love snuggling or be a boy who only wanted hugs on his terms? 

Would his eyes be brown like his dad’s or would he be covered in freckles?

What would his laugh sound like? Who would be his best friend? What would his favorite book be? Would he say Gen Alpha slang words like sigma and skibidi or would he love his mom too much to do that? 

Would I be mommy or mama or mom to him?

So many questions I won’t get to answers to on this side of heaven. But I think about him today, just like every day, and I hope he’s getting a slice of strawberry cake for his heavenly birthday. 

7 years. 🤍 #elijahtimothy

Our annual “we don’t just wear farm clothes” outing. #aewsos2025 #advisorsexcel

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Our annual “we don’t just wear farm clothes” outing. #aewsos2025 #advisorsexcel

It had to be done. #babygoats #circleoflife #lionking

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