A new store in West Hartford will allow shoppers to thrift for a cause, giving back to area’s the homeless community with every purchase.
Home for Good on New Park Avenue, sells high-quality homegoods and furniture at affordable prices. The store is a new branch of Journey Home, a nonprofit homeless service provider.
All of the proceeds from the thrift store sales go back into operating Journey Home’s furniture bank, according to Deputy Director Sara Salomon Wilson.
The bank provides furniture basics for residents transitioning out of homelessness and is the largest of its kind in Connecticut.
Salomon Wilson wanted to find a way to make use of the high-quality but less practical items donated to the furniture bank.
“We were encouraging our donors to just donate them to places like Goodwill and Salvation Army, which is fine, but we started to think like, maybe we could actually open up our own thrift store,” Salomon Wilson said.
In its first three weeks, Home for Good has earned about $16,000, Salomon Wilson said.
Home for Good specializes in home decor and furniture, with inventory ranging from Great Depression-era crystal sets and wooden armoires to records and framed photo prints. Prices range from $1 to several thousand.
“Like fondue forks. We couldn't bring these into clients' homes, but you never know who comes in and you know is looking for a fondue set,” Salomon Wilson said. “We take books, pieces of pottery. We have really unique and rare items in here as well.”
Journey Home raised about $177,000 to hire staff, purchase necessary equipment and renovate the space, bringing it up to code for retail use, Salomon Wilson said.
Residents who want to contribute to Home for Good can donate their items to Journey Home at the furniture bank warehouse, across the street from the new store on New Park Avenue. Any items not reserved for furniture bank purposes will be sent to Home for Good.
Store manager, Tina Heffernan, wants to use the products and presentation to draw in a young crowd, and then tell them about Journey Home’s mission.
“I love when people use the word curated, because to me, that means that we sourced the items and we didn't. It's all donated,” Heffernan said. “So we're making something feel like it was purposeful without actually having that intent.”
Heffernan is the store’s only paid employee, while the rest of the positions are filled by volunteers.
While it’s Heffernan’s first time working in a nonprofit space, she comes from a retail career spanning 20 years.
“It was like trying to find the perfect, where does my experience line up with something that actually is genuine and I can be proud of,” Heffernan said.
