CHRISTIAL SIERRA is shown in the new home location for Angel’s Hands Outreach in Westown.
(Independent Photo/Karen Mead-Elford)
by Karen Mead-Elford, co-editor
Christial Sierra, the main face behind the local organization called Angel’s Hands Outreach, has recently been granted one of her biggest prayer requests. Sierra has wanted a permanent home for the nonprofit organization she was inspired to begin after her own difficult road in the 1990s. Angel’s Hands Outreach, thanks to the generous contributions of many local groups and individuals, will now have a storefront location at 819 W. Main St., directly across the road from the Owosso House of Wheels location in Westown.
Everything in the store is donated either through other nonprofit groups, local businesses, or people wanting to give back to the community. Turn it all around and everything in the store is free to people in need. Identification is not a requirement to visit the store and help yourself to merchandise or available services as they are contributed to the organization. The volunteers at Angel’s Hands Outreach will never pry or ask too many questions, either. They know that every individual is deserving of respect, consideration, and compassion.
Sierra was raised in Lansing. As a young mother who had struggled through a difficult childhood, she found herself addicted, pregnant for a second child, and in trouble with the law. After a brief stint in prison, she realized she was living in the system, but believed there was much more in life available for her family if she could overcome her troubles. It took a considerable amount of time and effort, but Sierra eventually saw it all through. Particularly after she found her faith, she was able to garner the necessary strength to leave her addiction behind and finally move forward.
“If God can use a donkey in the Bible,” Sierra shared, “he can certainly use an ex-prostitute and junky today.”
After she graduated from Lincoln Adult Ed in the mid-1990s, she purchased a home in Owosso where she provided care for her own daughters and for individuals down on their luck. As a caregiver, she provided shelter, meals, bathing, and offered people a modicum of dignity that was missing in their lives. She also came to recognize how many people were in need within the community, and it was an overwhelming number. So a seed of an idea she had to help people meant that in 2012 she essentially lost her garage as Angel’s Hands Outreach was formed to help the poor, and her garage become a drop-off location.
After she moved back into an apartment, Attic Storage on Corunna Avenue allowed Sierra the use of a storage unit at a special price so she could continue her work. Over previous months, she has organized public events at Bentley Park in Owosso. She also has a network of volunteers and supporters, including Tom and Janet Sharp, Patty Bixby, Heather Norton, Jan VanTassell, Kathryn Wilcox, and many more.
Sierra completed a 3-year discipleship program at Life In Christ Church in Owosso that has helped her maintain her focus and to overcome her own internal issues. She wants to let people know that she will help anyone; no questions asked. Drop-offs of clothing and household items are welcome. Tents, warm socks, sleeping bags, and blankets for the homeless are also appreciated. Also, on Thursday, Nov. 16, Domino’s Pizza is donating 10 percent of all sales on that day to the group.
For more information, Sierra can be reached at (517) 803-6745. The store will be open most days from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and on Fridays from 1 until 6 p.m.
