Mayor in the Making — Mission Accomplished: Moliere Dimanche

Moliere (Moe) Dimanche’s journey from despair to electoral dreams unfolds like a symphony of second chances. The opening notes create a somber tune, echoing his impoverished childhood and the legal entanglements of his youth. His life today, however, crescendos to a remarkable height. Once a guest at the Mission, Moe now aspires to become Mayor of Orlando.

When Moe was only seven, his mother moved into the Mission with her four young boys. Looking back, Moe shares, “Were it not for what the Mission does, there’s no telling if I would have even made it out of childhood…When [my mother] was at the lowest point of her life, she needed the Mission. The Mission came through.” At the Mission, Moe’s mother received her cosmetology license and eventually opened her own salon.

Moe sees his childhood after leaving the Mission as a soaring melody of progress until poor choices put him behind bars. As a teenager, he helped friends dispose of stolen construction materials and ended up in prison. Moe was determined to learn from his mistakes and change himself and his community. Following his release, Moe published a book about prison reform, graduated from college, and started his own clothing business. Now, as part of his bid for mayor, Moe aims to tackle homelessness head-on, saying that currently, “Homelessness is not a priority. They’re not trying to fix the problem.” Going door to door, Moe shares his agenda and engages citizens to address the deficiencies he sees in our system. Regardless of the election’s outcome, Moe wants to give others “the same leg up that [the Mission] gave to my mother.”

In the grand symphony of Moe’s life, you can hear a triumphant melody of hope. He has shifted from a somber tune to an inspiring symphony. At the Mission, that is beauty to our ears.