“WE’RE HELPING WOMEN WITH LIFE SKILLS, WE’RE HELPING THEM FIND JOBS, GET THEIR FAMILIES BACK, FIND HOUSING, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE’RE HELPING THEM STAY CLEAN.” - Shawn Jennings, CEO, Real House Inc.
Real House Inc. started as a place for women to seek shelter and recover from substance abuse issues. Services have grown since then, and the two men behind it all have never strayed from their mission of helping those most in need. For Real House CEO Shawn Jennings, helping others has been part of his life for as long as he can remember. When he saw his parents take in a homeless woman who had a mental disability, it set a standard of caring that drives his work to this day.
“YOU'RE TRYING TO HELP AND YOU CARE ABOUT PEOPLE, AND I FIND THAT THREAD THROUGHOUT OUR ORGANIZATION.” - Wally Choice, CFO, Real House Inc.
Better together For years, Jennings and Choice worked together in real estate, and Choice rst came to Real House to help with some of the nancial work. But he too quickly came to love operating a business that provides care for those in need. Like Jennings, he says he also comes from a family dedicated to helping others, and he carries that spirit with him at Real House. “My family has been involved in community service and community work my entire life,” Choice says. “If you’re in this line of work, usually you’re not here because of the money. You're here because you're trying to help and you care about people, and I nd that thread throughout our organization.” Jennings recalls a day recently when he and Choice were sitting in the of ce and he opened a letter from a former client. The letter said since she left Real House, she has moved to Ohio and has turned her life completely around. She thanked Jennings and all of the Real House staff for all that they did to help her, and it reminded him of the real reason they continue this mission. “I was reading it to Wally and Wally just turned around and said, ‘This is why we do what we do,’” Jennings says. “It’s those testimonies, it’s those ‘thank yous’ that really push us to go forward.”
“My parents were wonderful people who gave a helping hand to many people, from relatives to friends to even homeless people,” Jennings says. “That kind of helping spirit has been ingrained in me since I was a child.” Jennings worked for years on Wall Street, but says he knew he had much more to give. So in 2004, he set out to open an emergency shelter for women in his hometown of Montclair, NJ. His real estate acumen led him to a property in a quiet and picturesque neighborhood, and it was there that Real House’s mission was born. “We’re helping women with life skills, we’re helping them nd jobs, get their families back, nd housing, and more importantly, we’re helping them stay clean,” Jennings says. While Jennings may have started the business, he is quick to point to Real House’s staff as the reason for its success. He says the men and women who work with clients every day are the true pillars of the organization. And he says one of his most valuable staff members is his longtime business partner and CFO of Real House, Wally Choice. “He’s been an extremely good partner for me to have in my real estate business as well as CFO of Real House,” Jennings says. “He provides a calm, practical approach to my sometimes bold, risky vision for the business.”
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