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When I am out and about in the Jamestown area, people often ask me about Community Helping Hands and what is happening there. Here are clarifications and updates.
Community Helping Hands has operated on a thrift store business model, taking donations of clothing, household goods and furniture and selling these items to people looking for a bargain. CHH also provided these donated items to those in need as identified by other agencies and churches.
Over the years, donations became a way for folks to get rid of unwanted items that could not be used by anyone and were certainly not suitable for a thrift store. As these donations were sorted by volunteers, more and more items had to be taken to the landfill at a cost to Helping Hands. The cost of maintaining the huge old warehouse building, the decrease in staff in order to pay other expenses, and the lack of assigned workers from outside agencies all limited the capacity and sustainability of CHH.
The opportunity to use the Gateway Center for a housing project in partnership with STEL (Southern Tier Environmental Living) seemed like a good solution to make better use of the four-story building and to give CHH income from renting available commercial space in a newly renovated facility. The process from conception to completion is now in year eight - a long time to wait for income to sustain an organization. At this time, we are closer than ever to receiving necessary funding and approvals so a closing for the housing Project is on the horizon.
All this is to say, Community Helping Hands as a depository of unwanted items has stopped, but the organization as a "helping hand" remains intact. The Gateway Center (owned by CHH) continues to be maintained and St Susan's Center and Mental Health Association continue their operations within the facility. While normal operations for CHH are paused, volunteers have been cleaning and sorting the warehouse rooms and contacting schools, other nonprofits and various agencies to get inventory to those who can use it. Items that can be used for crafts have gone to after school programs and Girl Scout troops. Swimsuits, prom dresses, men's suits, and other special clothing items are taken to places where they will be given to those who can use them. Shelters have picked up PJs and new underwear for their guests. Bags and boxes are individually sorted; items are identified for use by clients and other organizations and unusable items go in the dumpster.
At the same time all this is happening, the Board is discussing "what's next" for CHH. The mission of meeting community needs is still important, but what that looks like in order to fit within the capacity of the organization and be a sustainable program may look different. Most importantly, CHH is talking to current and potential partners in the community to identify clients' needs and how sharing resources may help everyone. During all discussions, we are mindful of the promise of the Gateway Lofts Housing Project as we work with our partner STEL on making that happen.
This is an exciting time for Community Helping Hands as we look forward to meeting the needs of the community. Cleaning, sorting and distributing what has been donated over the last six years is not a glamorous job, but it is fulfilling to ensure items go to people who need them. We will continue the work until nothing is left. We look forward to having an updated facility and a well-defined mission that connects Community Helping Hands to the needs of the community. Thank you for the ongoing support so we can keep the facility open – ensuring SSC and MHA have the space they need to do their work and CHH can prepare for "what's next".
Carol Hay is a Jamestown resident and board president of Community Helping Hands.