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SATURDAY 01.03.15

KICKING OFF
A NEW ERA
OF FOOTBALL
Sports, C1

You never think

itll happen to you
Religious congregations help homeless find
permanent housing, one man at a time

DOUG HOOD/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Firefighters at the scene of a Jackson fire in which neighbors

pulled a trapped man from the crawl space under the house.

Neighbors
save man
trapped in
home on fire
Use sledgehammer
to create escape hatch
KATHLEEN HOPKINS KHOPKINSAPP

PHOTOS BY DOUG HOOD/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

From left: Larry Flynn, Bill Strong and Richie (playing harmonica), often have stayed at area houses of worship that host
homeless men overnight in winter. The congregations also provide meals and social services to the men.

SUSANNE CERVENKA @SCERVENKA

ill Strong lost his retail job in the recession and, when his money ran out
in September 2012, his apartment in Long Branch. But the lifelong
Monmouth County native was certain his luck would change by Christ-

mas that year and once again he would be back on his feet. Two years later,
Strong is still homeless. You never think itll happen to you, said the 59-yearold, who spends his days looking for full-time work. Its like a disease.
Strong said he would be sleeping in the
woods this Christmas if it werent for a network of religious congregations in Freehold
that, for more than a decade, has been providing winter shelter for homeless men.
The Freehold Clergy Association Emergency Housing and Advocacy Program hosts
up to a dozen homeless men each night from
December through March, offering each
warm beds, meals and, for many, services
they need to rebuild their lives.

The program was started in 2003 by a

group of people who volunteered at the time
at what is now Open Door, a lunch program
and food pantry, in Freehold.
The broad answer as to why it started was
the need. The volunteers were hearing from
the lunch of those living in the woods and behind factories.
See HOUSING, Page A5

Association Emergency Housing and Advocacy

Program, scan the QR code or visit

STORY, A10

FABULOUS LOOKING FOOD AT SHORE

INDULGE, D1
OBITUARIES
OPINION
SPORTS
WEATHER
YOUR MONEY

A8
A11
C1
C8
A4

VOLUME 136
NUMBER 3
SINCE 1879

Silas Richardson (left) , 84, of Conowingo,

Maryland, has been charged in the death of
his brother, George C. Richardson Sr., 87, of
Neptune.
MONMOUTH COUNTY JAIL

Cops: Brother, 84,

kills Neptune man
JAY SCOTT SMITH @JAYSCOTTAPP

APP.com

AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN COURT

D6
D7
D5
A3
D4

See FIRE, Page A5

The cement mixer

To see a video about the clients of the Freehold Clergy

ADVICE
CLASSIFIED
COMICS
LOCAL
MOVIES

JACKSON Neighbors used a sledgehammer Friday

to break through the concrete foundation of a house
engulfed in flames and rescued a man who was trapped
in the homes crawl space.
The man, identified by neighbors as Jerome Donnelly, 51, was conscious when he was pulled out of the burning, split-level home at 51 Wyoming Drive, they said.
The victim was taken to CentraState Medical Center in
Freehold Township, said Joe Korotky, 50, of Toms River, one of four men who rescued the man.
Korotky said he was coming back from Home Depot
with a friend, Jason Macalik, who lives on Wyoming
Drive, when the two of them saw the house in flames.
Fire was coming out of everywhere, Korotky said.
Black smoke was coming out of everywhere.
Macalik, 41, said they heard Donnelly screaming for
help.
We kicked the front door down, but it was totally
engulfed, Macalik said.
I said to Jason, Do you have a sledgehammer?

"6<;<3
 

NEPTUNE An elderly Neptune man who drove to

Maryland to comfort his younger brother in a time of
need was slain by the man, authorities said.
George C. Richardson Sr., 87 of Neptune, had gone to
Maryland to help his brother, Silas, following the death
of his wife. It was there, police charge, that George was
stabbed to death by the 84-year-old Silas.
Following the murder, Silas drove his brothers car
back to Neptune, raising suspicions, police said.
Silas Richardson is in the Monmouth County Jail,
Freehold Township, awaiting extradition to Maryland
on charges that he killed his brother in what is being
called a family dispute gone wrong.
Homicides are rare here, said Lt. Michael Holmes
of the Cecil County (Md.) Sheriffs Department. Its
the first time in my 18 years here that Ive seen something like this.
Silas Richardson, of Conowingo, Maryland, has been
charged with first and second-degree murder, first and
second-degree assault, robbery, theft, and reckless endangerment. Sheriffs deputies in Conowingo found the
elder Richardsons covered body in the backyard of his
younger brothers home on Monday night.

"TCVSZ
1BSL
1SFTT
EBJMZ

LLLLLLLL

See BROTHER, Page A5