West Deer women open Free Store in Russellton to help those in need

Don’t want it? Two West Deer women will take it. And give it to those in need.

Sonya Dembowski and Nicole Docherty are moving their Free Store from East Deer to West Deer’s Russellton neighborhood.

It will be at 9 Creighton-Russellton Road, stocked with items donated or thrown away by others that can be repurposed or reused.

Life and work obligations have delayed the store’s opening. Dembowski is shooting for opening the week of Sept. 14.

The store takes anything and everything, from clothing to home goods, carpeting to kitchen sinks, and chandeliers to beds. All the items are free.

The waiting list for beds is 100 people deep. When people ask if the store takes beds, Dembowski says, “You’re (darn) right I do.”

“It was unbelievable how much they’re needed,” Dembowski said.

The store signed the lease on Aug. 15. It will take up the space formerly occupied by Autumn Lilly Floral and Gifts.

It is in the process of becoming a nonprofit. It has a board of directors and a solid group of volunteers.

The group is trying to think of a new name for the store because it has the same name as Gisele Fetterman’s Free Store, even though they’re not affiliated. Fetterman is the wife of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. Her Free Store is in Braddock.

“We’ve always just called it the Free Store ’cause it wasn’t really supposed to be this big,” Dembowski said.

The West Deer store will be filled with nothing but kids items when it first opens because it’s back to school time. There will be backpacks, clothes, shoes, toys and baby supplies.

If someone can’t get an item home, Dembowski will put it in her pickup and take it there for free.

“We’re just going to fill the store with nothing but kid stuff, and let the kids come in and get whatever they need for school,” Dembowski said. “Then we’ll move back into a little bit of everything like we were before.”

A knack for repurposing

Dembowski cleans homes for a living. She has always taken things from clients that they haven’t wanted.

But her journey to open the Free Store really started two years ago when she did volunteer work with an addiction treatment center in West Virginia.

When the center announced it would be opening another location last year, Dembowski sprang into action.

With just donations from the community, she filled five trucks with furniture, clothing and housewares for nearly 20 men coming out of rehab.

“It was a really cool experience,” Dembowski said.

Dembowski had items left over from that endeavor, and was continuing to receive donations from members of the community, clients and businesses.

A friend let her store everything in his 2,000 square-foot warehouse in East Deer. It filled up in just four days.

Around that time Dembowski connected with Docherty, who volunteered to help.

The two decided to open the warehouse to the public one weekend in April. The number of people who showed up was mind blowing. People came from as far as Pittsburgh’s Hill District and Wilkinsburg.

“It’s very tough times as we know, and we just want to help those in need that maybe lost (their) jobs or can’t afford simple items,” Docherty said.

Dembowski and all the volunteers were exhausted the following Monday, but donations kept coming in.

She hopped in her pickup and went out to get more. Volunteers stayed behind at the warehouse to sort, unpack and resort the items.

Dembowski continued to pick up donations through that Friday, and they reopened the warehouse to yet another crowd that Saturday.

“We must have had 40 to 50 cars a day just between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. It was just amazing what we were able to do, and we’ve still barely put a dent in the place,” Dembowski said.

“Nicole and I just decided, ‘You know what? This is so needed right now that we just can’t stop.’”

A change of scenery

It eventually came time to leave the warehouse.

Dembowski said the woman who previously rented the new location reached out and encouraged her to talk to the landlord. The flower shop closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The new location is roughly 1,000-square feet. “We took a hit on space, but we’re still serving the same community,” Dembowski said. “Before we were in East Deer. Now we’re in West Deer.”

The store is currently being funded by Dembowski and Docherty, as well as donations. A Facebook fundraiser has helped to pool together some money for rent.

“We were able to at least pay for the first three months,” Dembowski said. “We have a six month lease, and then the landlord said, ‘Let’s see what happens.’”

Anyone who wants to make donations can call Dembowski directly at 412-736-6621.