Our Mission
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." -Matthew 25:35
Free Dreamers is a Christian-based, volunteer-driven non-profit organization that serves the greater Raleigh area to help down and out children, families, and adults improve their quality of life by providing resources and amenities to bolster success. We are a central resource that has three essential components: a hot shower, free clothing, and a warm meal. For people to be prepared for work or a job interview they must dress (and smell!) the part.
Additionally, there is a component, the Free Dreamers Boutique. This mobile boutique offers community members a unique shopping experience where individuals in need can acquire gently-used clothes for free. More affluent community members can donate money to sponsor others to shop. By creating mobile closets and stationary closets, the revenue from the donation sales funds job training programs and other needed community-based services. Just one bag of clothes creates one hour of on-the-job training for someone who needs employment assistance.
The connection between our emotions and the way we dress is integral to the way we behave and to our identity. Most donation centers appear quite downcast; however, our innovative tactic involves promoting a luxurious feel. Our goal is to have those who visit us experience euphoric disbelief that they can afford name-brand products that were previously out of their reach.
There are two adages that address the very problems for which we are trying to find solutions. The first is, "dress for the job you want, not the job you have" and the second is, "the clothes make the (wo)man." Our goal is to bolster the self-worth and self-confidence of these very deserving members of our community, who are a bit down on their luck. More specifically, we will help them overcome homelessness, self-doubt, insecurity, addiction, fears, and unbelief.
Who We Serve
Who We Serve
Who We Serve
We help transition the homeless and those who are in poverty through a range of support services including a soup kitchen, free clothing, and hot showers. We connect them to the resources like Raleigh Dream Center which offers social services, community programs, Adopt-A-Blocks, free groceries, transitional housing, permanent affordable housing, and spiritual counseling. Once we engage homeless and impoverished individuals, including at-risk youth and families with children, we stay with them for as long as it takes to return them to self-sufficiency. We partner with communities, local churches, and agencies for donations and connect those seeking assistance to appropriate resources.
How We Help
Who We Serve
Who We Serve
We reach out to homeless and impoverished individuals through street ministry, mobile outreach services, Adopt-a-Block, and our mobile Free Dreamers Clothing. Once we engage with homeless individuals, youth, and families with children, we provide assistance ranging from food, clothing, furniture, and hygiene products to offering resources to find permanent supportive housing and job stability. In this way, people with disabilities, mental or physical challenges, etc. can become stable and productive members of their communities. We have found that without supportive services, government housing is often not enough to end homelessness.
Homeless Outreach Program
Homeless Outreach Program
Homeless Outreach Program
Since homeless persons can be reluctant to leave the streets and accept emergency shelter or transitional housing, we offer and operate an outreach program - a safe place where they can learn biblical principles, collect clothes/needs, get baptized, and eat healthy and well-balanced dinner. This is a place where homeless youth or adults can get off the streets and find a temporary safe haven. And often, when homeless persons begin to trust outreach program staff, they agree to leave the streets and enter transitional or permanent housing. Our services are available for anyone in need and are based on the "honor system." If a person is hungry, Free Dreamers will feed them. If a person needs clothing, we will dress them. Should a person need a shower, we will see to it that he or she has the opportunity to wash clean.
Our Impact
Homeless Outreach Program
Homeless Outreach Program
Since August 31, 2019, we have served over 3,000 family and fire victims (just working two Saturdays per month)! We set up a mobile boutique at Adopt-a-Block for the Raleigh Dream Center. We have provided clothing, house utensils, beds, TV, and furniture for impoverished individuals. Independent for 20 years, we have served over a thousand families by providing dinners and monetary donations, organizing Christmas gifts, dispersing blankets, gloves, toiletry items, and housing to the homeless and the hurting. From assisting displaced and impoverished people to providing assistance in obtaining disability benefits, to providing transportation, to offering job training assistance to the community, we offer innumerable resources to programs to support our efforts of ending homelessness in our community and in America at large.