Comox Valley residents are rallying behind a transition society after its thrift store was damaged by fire, wiping out a major source of funding for women and children fleeing violence.
Heather Ney, executive director of the Comox Valley Transition Society, said community support has been “unbelievable” in the wake of a fire at the Too Good to be Threw Thrift Shop in downtown Courtenay.
She said people have been donating money by telephone or through the society’s website, while businesses have called to ask what they can do to help.
“I’ve always known that we lived in a great community and a supportive community,” she said. “It’s certainly proving to be true over the last few days.”
The fire remains under investigation and the society has been unable to access the thrift shop since the blaze early Sunday morning. But Ney said she was told the damage is “extensive” and could take months to repair.
“It’s certainly our desire to open up in that spot again, because it’s been a very positive thing for our organization,” she said. “It’s been running for 10 years already and contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars of unrestricted revenue that fills in the gaps that the government funding doesn’t provide.”
Ney said the thrift store generated more than $200,000 a year to support the society’s programs, including a transition shelter, a recovery house, a drop-in for homeless women and counselling services. In addition, the store provided free clothing and other goods for women and children fleeing violence, Ney said.
“Sometimes women and women with children arrive at the transition house with nothing at all and we’re able to provide for them, at no cost, through the thrift store,” she said.
Courtenay-Comox MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard said she spoke with Ney Tuesday and is investigating what government can do to assist.
“It was pretty devastating to hear about the fire,” she said.
“On a personal note, I know there’s a lot of people who make that their destination for goods for a donation. Just from that point alone, you can tell that there was a lot of support in the community for the work that the transition society does.”
Ney said the fire has created additional hardship by throwing about 20 people out of work.
“There’s a lot of emotion, of course, for a lot of different reasons,” she said. “That’s not just a retail store trying to make a profit. We’re trying to generate revenue to serve people and the staff take it very seriously and are passionate about it.”
The society hopes to find a temporary location for the thrift shop, and is asking people to hold onto to their goods for now until it reopens. Meanwhile, the society is accepting donations by telephone or online through its website at cvts.ca.
