Op shop works for community good on many levels

City Mission’s newly opening Barbados Street Op Shop

Our new op shop was closed and we were getting it ready for the big opening, but even then calls for help kept coming in.

This time it was an appeal on behalf of a woman in hospital. She had absolutely nothing and needed a nightie, underwear and some slippers. Could we help?

We could and of course we did. Our op shop gets requests like these all the time from other agencies, from the police, from our own City Mission social workers and so on, and it reveals the other side to our shops that many people aren’t aware of.

While finding amazing bargains is fun and op shopping is a great way to recycle and re-use goods to make this a more sustainable world, for some people our shops are the only way they can afford household goods and clothes.

City Mission Retail Team Leader Josie says a thriving op shop works for community good on many levels and a room of shoppers can be there for many different reasons.

As she says, the shoppers can be younger people looking for retro clothing to wear to a party; or older people hunting for brands of goods they remember and know will last forever; or a mum who has $50 a week to feed her family and this is the only way can afford to clothe her kids; or it might be someone who has absolutely nothing and who has been given a voucher by one of our social workers …

We also help people make a new start in life.

Our op shop provides free care packs such as linen and kitchenware for people we are supporting moving into permanent housing after we have brought them in from the streets. We do the same for people from other agencies such as Comcare and Housing First.

All this powerful and real help for vulnerable people comes directly from the kindness of those who donate clothes and goods to us.

And of course all the profits from the sales go straight back into supporting all the other City Mission services.

Central City Op Shop manager Tina says our op shops are also a place for lonely people to come for company and get a kind word from our staff and volunteers.

“Sometimes we are just an ear for people. Some customers are regulars and they browse for hours on end, but you know they are here for the social aspect of it.”

Josie remembers a young man who came in with a voucher for a jacket. A beautiful Barkers jacket was found for him.

“He was a guy who would have never worn anything like that in his life and he put it on. The pride and happiness and feeling so good about himself was so obvious. He walked out of here feeling cool and standing tall.”

Our new Central City Op Shop continues this tradition of community good and caring alongside fundraising.

The shop has re-opened in a new site at 250 Barbadoes Street and is right over the back fence from our headquarters in Hereford Street.

We picked the former Sharp building because it needs to be as close as possible to all our other services and the community village we are creating with our new redevelopment.

The Central City Op Shop was based for decades at our 275 Hereford Street site in a rabbit warren of rooms at the back of our rambling old buildings. Then 18 months ago it was temporarily moved to Tuam Street while we redeveloped the site.

The op shop was supposed to go in the front of our new Foodbank building, but we realised it needed more room.

It is an important part of our community support and why we wanted it close to our Foodbank, addiction counselling services, our day programmes and emergency shelter accommodation and our very special Thrive Community Café with its very affordable prices where everyone can mix and eat and drink together.

We expect a big flow of people moving to and from the City Mission’s main complex and the Op Shop.

The City Mission’s Central City Op Shop at 250 Barbadoes Street is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.