AUDIO – CARRYING ON HIS DREAM –
Dec. 2, 2025 – Earle VanBlarcom III’s dream was to open a resource center to help other people like him struggling with addiction.
After he got clean in 2018, VanBlarcom founded a nonprofit, Hope on Deck, which connects people to resources and provides food, clothing, hygiene items and other essentials to people in recovery. “He was so good at it,” VanBlarcom’s mother, Dawn Sheehan, said. “He was so genuine, and people were attracted to the fact that he met them at their level. He had been through everything that they were going through, and he was able to pull them up out of the trenches.” For years, Hope on Deck operated out of a few storage sheds, but VanBlarcom always looked forward to the day when he would be able to open a permanent, indoor space for people to come to seek help.
Sadly, VanBlarcom relapsed during the pandemic and died in 2023 at the age of 32. On Tuesday, however, his dream came true when his mother and Hope on Deck opened Earle’s Legacy Resource Center.
“This means so much to us because there are so many people out there who need help,” Sheehan said.
Located on Albe Drive near Newark, the resource center has shelves stocked with food, clothing, shoes, hygiene products and household items like linens, kitchenware and lamps.
