For most people, a bed is simply a place to sleep. For Sherry, a woman who had spent 26 years living outside a train station, walking into a furnished apartment of her own was almost too much to take in. “The day we moved in her furniture, she was overwhelmed and in tears,” recalls Kim Sleeman, founder and director of The Warehouse NJ. It is a moment that has stayed with Sleeman, and one that continues to drive her work forward.

Rooted in Service

Sleeman’s path to founding The Warehouse NJ, which helps people transition out of homelessness by providing items donated by the community, was shaped long before she even imagined running a nonprofit. A Short Hills resident since 2004, she spent two years in the Peace Corps and devoted years to community outreach through Millburn schools and the Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills. “I have spent the better part of my adult life trying to help people on a grassroots level,” she says.

In June 2019, Sleeman channeled that experience into something of her own, The Warehouse NJ. “I wanted to get up every day and know that I could make a difference and help people when they needed it the most,” she says.

She built the organization around an incredible board of women from Short Hills—Margaret Santana, Kara Lawler, Ali Seeger, Robin Grapkowski, and Tracy Goldenberg—whose guidance and inspiration, Sleeman says, have helped The Warehouse NJ reach a wider network of clients and volunteers each year.

Dignity by Design

Clients of the nonprofit arrive through one of more than 50 social service agency partners, among them Bridges Outreach, Newark Housing Authority, Catholic Charities, Covenant House, and Family Promise, each navigating their own story of displacement or homelessness. “Though the stories differ greatly, the outcome is the same,” Sleeman says. “These clients are starting over with little more than a few bags of clothes.”

Rather than assigning items, The Warehouse NJ invites each client to walk the space and choose what they want for their new home. “It is important to us that the client feels ownership in their choices,” Sleeman explains. “Giving our clients a sense of dignity is the first step in making them feel hopeful for their new beginning.”

In seven years, The Warehouse NJ has served more than 2,500 individuals and families—a milestone the group recently celebrated. The people behind that number include a woman who survived domestic violence and had been living in her car for two years; clients who lost everything to fire or flood; and a couple who fled Hurricane Maria and came to the United States only to spend three years sleeping in parks, taking turns staying awake to protect each other. “Their journey was difficult, but they had an opportunity to start over and we were glad to be a part of it,” Sleeman says.

Beyond the numbers, it is the response from partner agencies that Sleeman points to as her most meaningful measure of progress. “When these agencies first reach out, they can’t believe we exist,” she says. “I’m told repeatedly by our partners, if it wasn’t for the help from The Warehouse NJ, their clients would have nothing to make their space a home.”

The H.O.M.E. Tour

Each June, The Warehouse NJ’s signature fundraiser draws the community together in a distinctly personal format. The H.O.M.E. Tour—Helping Others to Move Equitably—is a curated tour of five Short Hills homes, each chosen for its own story, whether grounded in architectural history, a recent renovation, or something more personal. The 4th Annual H.O.M.E. Tour, which was held on June 5, raised $117,000, with every dollar directed toward the organization’s work. “Each year this event has grown in size,” Sleeman says. “We are so grateful to all the homeowners, sponsors, and attendees that have supported us throughout the past four years.”

The Warehouse NJ operates entirely on donated furniture, household goods, and volunteer hours. Among the most needed items right now are brand-new mattresses and platform frames, which the organization works to provide to every client. Welcome baskets stocked with cleaning supplies and essential moving-day items are equally valued. “Funds, donated furniture, or time are all appreciated,” Sleeman says.

Seven years ago, the organization served 35 clients. This year, it is on pace to support 530. “As much as we have grown, we are always having to tell our story,” Sleeman says. “It is my hope that in five years, The Warehouse NJ will be more established and more widely supported.”

Until then, the mission remains exactly what it has always been. “We have a simple model,” she says. “The icing on the cake is the connections we make with each client and the support we can provide.”

Sleeman encourages anyone curious about the mission to stop by, see the space, and get involved. For more information visit thewarehousenj.org.

Photograph courtesy of Kim Sleeman