New thrift store will aid addiction fight

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This article was published 31/03/2018 (2974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new thrift store set for downtown Brandon plans to give back to women fighting addictions.

“When (people) bring clothes to donate here or when they come and shop at our store, they’re going to be able to rub shoulders with the very women that they’re helping by making their donation,” said Kim Lowes, director of Adult and Teen Challenge in Brandon.

Adult and Teen Challenge SuperThrift will open this summer at the vacated downtown premises of The Brick at 127 Seventh St. Residents from the non-profit’s women’s recovery centre will be the employees.

“You’re going to be able to meet face-to-face the person that your donation is helping and I think that’s going to go a long ways in us getting donations.”

In a 12,000-sq.-ft. show floor previously brimming with mattresses and couches, Lowes imagines they’d have no trouble filling shelves and hangers with gently used clothes, furniture and toys.

On Thursday, the first shipment of donated items, collected by the Adult and Teen Challenge men’s residential program in Winnipeg, was delivered. A few more 18-wheelers packed with goods will arrive shortly.

Lowes said a thrift store has been planned for a while.

In late 2016, they opened a new women’s recovery centre northwest of Brandon that can accommodate 16 women, instead of the eight beds in place at their former residence.

More residents, however, cost more money to accommodate. They envisioned a thrift store will raise the cash and give the women they work with steady employment.

“There’s a large part of our program, which is studying and learning and counselling, but they need to feel productive and they need to feel like they’re gaining some life skills,” Lowes said, explaining they provide a safe haven for women overcoming addictions to focus on their physical, mental and spiritual recovery.

The Christian discipleship program opened a thrift shop in Thunder Bay, Ont., last year, and is using the same model in Brandon.

Filling a space downtown is often “where the people who need us the most are,” Lowes said.

In the future, they hope to use room at the thrift store to host non-residental support programs. This includes ministry to individuals with a past or current addiction, as well as family and friends who need guidance helping a loved one.

Lowes said reaction to their development of a thrift store has been fantastic. Some people and churches are already collecting donations.

“Not only do they think it’s going to be a great thing for Brandon, but they love the idea that it’s going to be a permanent work opportunity for the girls to take part in,” she said.

Keisha Lepine, a recovering addict, will graduate from her year-long stay at the recovery centre in April.

She said the work experience will be invaluable for future residents of the program.

“Honestly, it makes us feel important because we’re seeing our work helping other lives. Not only does the money go toward the program and it saves lives, but it helps the people of Brandon as well because we’re giving good clothes a new home.”

Raped and abused growing up, Lepine long sought acceptance from others. She turned to alcohol and hard drugs and tried to kill herself.

After a brief reprieve, she fell back into her addictions as an adult.

She reached a crisis point at 21 when her ex-boyfriend was inserting drug-infused needles into her body because she didn’t want to do it herself.

“Through Teen Challenge, I’ve learned that I’m worthy, and I’m loved and my path doesn’t define my future, God does,” Lepine said.

The 22-year-old is now training to join the staff at the program.

Those stories of transformation are the purpose behind the organization, said Terrence McKenzie, an Adult and Teen Challenge staff member from B.C. who is the Brandon thrift store manager.

He spent a few weeks working at the thrift store in Thunder Bay to understand its operation. Residents of the men’s recovery centre are employees at the store.

“These guys, they get to punch in in the morning, they get to work all day, they get to be with people and serve people,” McKenzie said. “They get to feel good about themselves because they get to accomplish something.”

Donations of gently used items are already being collected. People can drop off items at the building when staff are present, at a bin soon to be located outside the store and elsewhere in Brandon or by calling Aaron at 204-821-4920.

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