Furniture and home goods sold at Xchange Thrift Store are spilling into the parking lot because there’s not enough room inside. Despite making everything 50 percent off and selling clothes for $1 each, it’s difficult to keep up with the donations that come into the Hazel Dell store.
The thrift store is the entrepreneurial arm of the nonprofit Xchange Recovery, which provides housing, recovery classes, clinical services and recovery-based church services. The programs target both individuals struggling with addiction and their families.
“That’s the reason we exist,” said program director Vicky Smith. “The store is just the means to the cause.”
In June, Xchange Thrift moved into the 4,500-square-foot location at 7904 N.E. Highway 99 that used to be Bob’s Rentals and Sales. The store is kitty-corner to the former, smaller storefront, which recently reopened in an attempt to move more merchandise.
Employee Billy Peck said the store received a wave of donations when word got out that they were moving. Nothing, really, had to be sent across the street other than clothes, he said.
“We just have so much inventory here that we needed to reopen and liquidate,” Smith said. “We’ve not advertised at all. It’s just that community presence, and location is a key piece, too.”
Some people stop by the store looking to learn about the services offered through the nonprofit. Customers and donors return because they want to support the work they’re doing, Smith said.
The red “Thrift Store & Donation Center” sign on the side of the building might look familiar; it was salvaged from the Salvation Army a couple of blocks away before that store was torn down. Some people walk into the store thinking they’ve found the new Salvation Army thrift store, Smith said. (That store actually relocated to the northeastern side of Northeast Fourth Plain Boulevard and 117th Avenue.)
With the rainy season coming up, anything that can’t fit in Xchange Thrift will be stored at some of the recovery houses in Brush Prairie. There are six houses that support 60 individuals and families working through addiction recovery.
The building that houses the older thrift store at 7735 N.E. Highway 99 is for sale. Xchange Recovery has about a year left in its lease and hopes to buy the building, which also houses the recovery center on the second floor. The nonprofit looks to possibly purchase another nearby building, too.
The long-term vision is to have additional meeting space and open a coffee shop and serenity store, where people can buy faith-based and recovery merchandise. Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous have cards, key tags and coins that recognize sobriety milestones. If everything works out, the nonprofit will have a strong presence at the busy intersection of Highway 99 and 78th Street.
“We’re just waiting for divine resources,” Smith said.
Xchange is securing housing in Cowlitz County that would assist 32 people working through addiction recovery. Everyone in recovery housing gets a case manager and works through a structured program that moves them toward independence and long-term sobriety. In June — along with moving the thrift store — Xchange started a recovery-based church service at Faith Center Church in Kelso that draws about 50 to 60 people every Friday night.
“No wonder we’re tired,” Smith said with a laugh. “It’s a good tired.”
