In this Extra Blooms episode, we catch up with past MGP guest, Damien Posey, an award-winning Bay Area mentor, affectionately known as Uncle Damien to his community. When the coronavirus pandemic hit and other service organizations had to shut down, the most vulnerable took the brunt, and Damien stepped up what they do every day in a big way. Now, through his organization Us4UsBayArea Damien and his team work to provide health clinics, mentorship, food services, and entrepreneur training to help and inspire others to live healthy, happy, productive lives. 

There’s not a single term that describes what Damien—known as Uncle Damien, or “Unc” in his community—means to his beloved San Francisco Bay Area community. Perhaps his six-word biography says it best: “Once a monster, now a mentor.” As a low-income young man of color in the inner city, Damien chose an all too familiar path that led him to gunfire, crime, and ultimately incarceration. In jail, he realized he’d gotten there because of choices he’d made and that he could make different ones for himself, his daughter, and his community. Now he works to help others to avoid the path he took.

Working in concert with existing organizations and resources, Damien has worked for decades to serve the young, the old, and the vulnerable in San Francisco. Regarding every young person as his “baby” and every adult as his sister or brother, Damien never stops doing all he can to serve his “family.”   

Mayor London Breed awarded Damien the key to the city, and he holds the key to the hearts of many.

To find out more or to contribute to Damien’s cause go to: us4usBayArea.org