This Winnipeg thrift store is helping vulnerable people land on their feet

An Indigenous-led thrift store in Winnipeg is taking action to help vulnerable people who were recently homeless land on their feet.

The Revive and Thrive Thrift Shop on Logan Avenue opened up in June, but the store is offering much more than some frugal finds.

Crystal Irvine, the director of operations, said the store offers a nine-week work-ready program, called 'Ready, Set, Go' for marginalized individuals. It gives them a chance to learn in the classroom and get retail experience working in the Revive and Thrive Thrift Shop.

"These individuals get stuck in that, ‘you need experience to get a job,’" she said. "(We) get them the experience that they need and then recommend them to future employees."

Recently, Irvine said the thrift store has found a new way to help.

"I was contacted by a couple of social workers that had clients that had gone from homelessness to secured housing, and they were in need of just basic household goods," she said. "We have an abundance of it, so I just put together a care package based on their needs."

Items included linens, towels, plates, cutlery – the everyday items that can all too easily be taken for granted. Irvine said a move into secure housing after homelessness can be overwhelming. That's why she wants to help out.

"I don't want to discourage them, for them to give up and say, you know, 'Heck, it's just easier to go back to being homeless,’" she said. "We want to support that environment."

SUCCESS GOES BEYOND A PHYSICAL UNIT, ADVOCATE SAYS

It's a pattern End Homelessness Winnipeg is trying to track.

"We want to identify the factors that will contribute to a person's success in housing," Jason Whitford, the CEO of End Homelessness Winnipeg.

Whitford said right now there is a severe shortage of low-income, supportive and transitional housing in Winnipeg. He said programs including Rapid Housing Initiative are helping.

As part of the Government of Canada's National Housing Strategy, Winnipeg is one of several cities across Canada to receive funding towards the rapid construction of new affordable housing. According to a report to the city, since the first round of funding for the projects in 2020, the city has disbursed a total of $25 million towards the creation of 134 new housing units in Winnipeg.

The city said the first round of projects rolled out in November 2020 are nearly all completed and occupied. The third round of submissions for the program is currently underway in Winnipeg.

Whitford said it is important the solutions and resources are Indigenous-led, given the fact Indigenous people are far overrepresented among Winnipeg's homeless population, (accounting for 68.2 per cent according to the 2022 Street Census).

He pointed to initiatives including the Astum Api Niikinaahk housing project next to Thunderbird House led by Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, which provide supportive care and housing for people experiencing homelessness.

Whitford said a person's success after experiencing homelessness goes beyond the physical unit.

"It's after care, it's follow up, it's resources," he said. "Not to say, 'Here's your keys and good luck.' It's that ongoing support."

ACCESS TO BASIC HOUSEHOLD ITEMS CAN BE A BARRIER

It is something Siloam Missions sees first hand through its housing programs, including its 20-unit supportive recovery housing called The Nest which received funding through the Rapid Housing Initiative.

Luke Thiessen, the communication manager for Siloam Mission, told CTV News the program provides housing for people who have come out of an addictions treatment program and otherwise wouldn't have a place to call home.

"We see a higher success rate when someone's lived in that supportive recovery housing environment, but it definitely can happen to anyone that they might fall back into homelessness," he said.

He adds while the program's success rate is high, when someone gets into housing for the first time, it can come with new challenges. Thiessen said efforts like the care packages from Revive and Thrive Thrift Store have a big impact. He said Siloam Mission has a similar program, giving 'move-out' kits to those moving into housing.

"Those basic items cost a lot of money for somebody who potentially their only income is EIA or welfare. You don't just have that money sitting around to furnish a new apartment when you're coming from nothing," he said.

"That set of basic items is, I think, a really big part of somebody's success and being able to function when they move out for the first time or for the second or third time."

So far, Irvine said she has put together about eight care packages. But she said the needs have far exceeded what she first anticipated, and plans to do more.

"I got help, so I feel the need to help other people, as well," she said. "It takes a community and definitely a village to take care of all of our citizens here."

She said donating household items to the thrift store is an easy way for people to get involved and make a difference.