We’re partnering with News Channel 12 to honor nonprofit volunteers who make our community thrive. Each month, we’re choosing a different nonprofit and asking them to select a valuable volunteer to receive the SESLOC Cares for Community Award. We are thrilled to introduce our latest recipient, Gabriel Ochoa, a volunteer with FIST and STAR Generation.
We are proud to present the SESLOC Community Cares Aware to Gabriel Ochoa.
Through adversity and personal transformation, Gabriel chose a path of healing and purpose. Today, he turns his lived experience into hope for others.
As Board Chair and Co-Founder of the FIST Program and STAR Generation, and through Strive House—his men’s shared living home in Santa Maria—Gabriel creates safe spaces for recovery, accountability, and growth for men rebuilding their lives, strengthening the entire community. After walking a difficult path which included incarceration, Gabriel used education to transform his life, earning two college degree and supporting others in reentry.
Through his non-profits, he’s worked to reach the underserved where they are at, giving them a hand up towards a better life. In addition to working with justice-affected students at Allan Hancock College, Santa Barbara City College and Grizzly Academy, he has spoken to students at Santa Ynez High School and Fitzgerald Continuation High School to break down barriers for those feeling ostracized from the community. He also regularly visits juvenile halls and county jails to share the transformative power of education and personal change.
Gabriel has also led several outreach missions throughout the community, including marches against gun violence and speaking at overdose awareness seminars. His ultimate goal is to create a future where every formerly incarcerated individual discovers their purpose, embraces their identity, and builds a life rooted in resilience and opportunity.
Congratulations on being recognized as SESLOC’s Community Cares Award recipient!