Our founder
Francky Pierre-Paul
Founder & CEO, A Different Shade Of Love
He was homeless as a teenager in the same county where he now runs outreach.
@iamfranckypierrepaul
The one thing he asks
He asks people to say hello before they reach for their wallet.
If you see somebody holding up a sign, instead of pulling out money out your pocket, have a conversation and ask them their name.
His own graphics
He was kicked out of his home at 16. For his last years of school he was couch-surfing and sleeping on park benches in Palm Beach County.
He went to class and told no one.
I grew up where everyone knew Francky as being the class clown or funny kid. But that was my mask that I hid behind where I felt like if no one knew what I was going through, no one would judge me.
— Francky Pierre-Paul, WPTV
Palm Beach CountyAge 16Published: WPTV, 27 April 2019
It was demoralizing. I hated it, and I hated myself.
That is what homelessness does that a photograph cannot show. It is also why this organization spends its money on quality goods instead of whatever is left over.
His turnaround did not begin with a program, a caseworker or a grant. It began with a gospel record: "Amazing" by Hezekiah Walker.
It all started with a song, "Amazing" by Hezekiah Walker.
— Francky Pierre-Paul, WPTV
A decade later he had a home, a wife, kids, a job and purpose. He was working full-time and taking college classes. And he could not stop thinking about the people still sleeping in the park.
He started collecting donated clothing and giving it away in John Prince Park, in Lake Worth Beach. He called the events "Trade-In."
Neighbors came for a new look, and what they got along with it was the thing he had been missing at 16: someone who did not ask them to prove anything.
He was doing this before there was an organization or a name. By the summer of 2019 a local news crew had noticed, and he was already talking about the nonprofit he planned to start.
In October 2019 he incorporated A Different Shade Of Love in Florida.
I chose to serve a population that tends to get looked over because the perspective is that they are lazy and refuse to work or they are bums, alcoholics and lack a sense of direction. I started A Different Shade of Love to show their perspective and to share their stories.
— Francky Pierre-Paul, Phelps Media Group
He worked full-time, took classes, and had a wife and kids. The org started as the thing he did with whatever was left of his week.
Incorporated in Florida21 October 2019
Five months after the org was incorporated, the world shut down. Francky says nearly every nonprofit serving homelessness in Palm Beach stopped going out.
He took tents, meals and water into the park, where the people nobody was allowed near were still living.
The tribe is getting bigger. In the moment of pandemic, we're not scared. We're asking how can we come together to help.
— Francky Pierre-Paul, WPTV
Recognition
Awards and honors.
American Hero
NewsNation
National segment on his work with our homeless neighbors.
Hometown Hero
Palm Beach Illustrated
Profile of the man behind A Different Shade Of Love.
Hometown Hero
CBS12 News
Morning-show feature on a mission to help our neighbors.
Fellow, Class of 2020
New Leaders Council Palm Beach
The work.
If I can change one soul before I leave this earth.
That is the bar he set for himself.
If I can change one soul before I leave this earth, then I feel like my job here while I'm just passing by is not null and void.
From Glory to GLORY