Once homeless in the Bay Area, now they’re entrepreneurs

Yulanda and Jerome Bearden were ready to give up. They’d moved with their five children into a Hayward, California, homeless shelter, and felt like their life had hit the “lowest of the lows.” But two years later, the Beardens stood in their kitchen, surrounded by boxes of candy and sprinkles. Enveloped in the smell of warm caramel, they marveled at how much has changed. Not only are they stably housed, now they’re entrepreneurs selling candy apples and other treats to a quickly expanding base of sweet-toothed customers. “We came from the bottom,” Yulanda said, after selling out of candy over ...