Helping the homeless get a home

Keely Freeman grew up poor in Newark.

She changed that by receiving a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rutgers University and working in investment banking on Wall Street.

Yet, something always told her to volunteer.

“I fell in love volunteering at a homeless shelter in Newark,” said the West Orange resident. “It absolutely changed my life. I couldn’t go back. Had I not volunteered I may not have found my life passion.”

Even as a teen, Freeman loved volunteering. Her high school had a volunteer program and she’d serve fried fish to the homeless. She said that she and her girlfriend would help “just because” they loved helping.

While volunteering at a shelter for homeless youth in Newark, Freeman learned that everybody wants to adopt babies.

“What happens as your age increases, the rate of adoption decreases,” she said. “By the time you get to be 13, you’re in the foster system. There’s very little chance you’ll get adopted.”

Seeing that young people between the ages of 13 and 24 have little chance of being adopted touched Freeman’s heart. “Knowing there was a waiting list and not enough
bids inspired me to start Sierra House, where young people will have a place to go,” she said. “They come. They live for free. They get life skills to transition from homelessness.”

The Sierra House, located in East Orange, has the capacity to house 19. Since its inception in 2008, they’ve helped more than 600 homeless people.

“They come and live there for three months, 18 months, two or three years,” Freeman said. “We really help them transition and have an 86% success rate. It’s a high success rate.”

Currently Sierra House has three programs:

Transitional which provides residents with learning activities that will transfer to lifelong independent living skills.

Neighborhood Improvement which works with residents, nonprofits, the City of East Orange and banks, to reclaim East Orange neighborhoods hit hard by foreclosure and abandonment.

Family Support Services, offering individual support services for eligible children, youth and young adults under age 21 with challenging behaviors and developmental disabilities.

Founded in 2002, it took six years before Sierra House opened the door. Freeman took all her money from a 401K and her savings to purchase a big house. She went back to school in 2005 for nonprofit management. “I was taking the information and applying it to Sierra House,” she said.

She graduated from New York University and the next day was the grand opening for Sierra House.

“If you have a dream, never give up,” Freeman advised.

Though Freeman’s dream came true, running a nonprofit doesn’t come without challenges. “There’s a continuous struggle for money, more talent/employees, raising money,” she said. “PSE&G aren’t going to give us free gas and electricity.”

Sierra House recently got into the cookie dough business, selling four different types of dough to organizations which then sell it to raise money for themselves. The sales then benefit both organizations.

Because she was not a baker and wanted the cookies to be unique, original, and something that consumers would remember, Freeman sought out the help of a local baker, who created a kosher and all-natural cookie dough line to be sold exclusively to Sierra House Cookies.

The dough comes in four flavors, an oatmeal cookie called Hidden Treasure, a chocolate and peanut butter chip cookie called Sierra Delight; a chocolate chip cookie called Sierra Chip and a macadamia nut cookie called Acadamia Nut.

Freeman’s future plans for Sierra House are basically to sustain and improv it. To learn more about Sierra House, visit: https://www.sierrahouse.org/

  east orange, Sierra House, West Orange