Yvonne Lewis Langlois
These are trying times for all businesses, small and large, as well as charities and non-profit organizations. On March 30, Prime Minister Trudeau announced plans to aid these organizations in response to the staggering impact of COVID-19. Whether La Friperie Communautaire Huntingdon qualifies for any of these measures remains to be seen.
La Friperie Communautaire, located on Lorne St., is the biggest friperie in the MRC. It is 9,000 square feet of clothing, furniture, toys and pretty much anything you could possibly need. Initially started by ADDS (l’Association pour la défense des droits sociaux), it grew into the Friperie Communautaire Huntingdon around 2010 and took on a “social mission,” says its coordinator, Guylaine Joannette. An energetic woman who exudes positivity, Joannette emphasizes the friperie’s mission: “We provide services to the community.”
Due to the pandemic, the friperie has been closed since mid-March, but normally the FCH employs six permanent and 10 temporary employees who are all local residents. Employees are referred by the Centre local d’emploi du Haut Saint-Laurent, but the Carrefour Jeunesse-Emploi Huntingdon and many other organizations are also partnered with the friperie. Employees work as trainees on a 30-week program where they learn work skills. At the end of this time, the Carrefour Jeunesse-Emploi Huntingdon helps them put together a C.V. to aid in the search for a permanent job elsewhere. “We can’t keep everyone,” Joannette states, “but I feel we give them a jump-start to launch them into the workforce.”
The Friperie Communautaire Huntingdon has taken on a huge role in the community. Local hospitals, Residence-Elle du Haut-Saint-Laurent, and other organizations often call on this establishment to provide clothing for those less fortunate at no cost.
Normally the red metal donations bin just outside the door fills up twice a day but unfortunately this is not always beneficial to the FCH. People drop off such items as old paint cans, metal, old electronics, even old medication and syringes, instead of recycling or disposing of them at the appropriate locations. “Our people have to be careful [when emptying the bin],” Joannette says. The situation worsens around July when tenants are vacating rental spaces. The red box and the space around it become an easy fix for getting rid of unwanted items such as furniture and electronics — but some people go so far as to leave even dirty diapers at the friperie’s door. Before the closure of the friperie due to COVID-19, all daily deposits to the bin were sorted into enormous piles in the supply area of the store. Often Joannette herself makes a trip to a local recycling location with items — “to recycle the right way,” she says — but when there is enough to warrant the transport, L’Arpe-Québec, a recycling company, is called to make a pickup.
Being closed, the friperie is unable to accept any donations at present; but on Monday, April 6, the red bin outside the closed store was seen to be overflowing. Apparently drop-offs had been made over the rainy weekend, resulting in rain-soaked items that could only become trash. The friperie’s management has appealed to the public to cease donations and deposits at the red box until further notice.
Before COVID-19, clothing that did not move off the racks was picked up by Le Support, a Montreal-based organization that collects unsold clothing every two to three weeks. FCH tries to avoid using the garbage container and even has a group come to cut up some of the soiled or ripped clothing into rags for local garages.
Although this friperie provides shoppers with an array of items, including dishes and sporting goods, its main focus and money-maker is clothing. In 2018, 80 per cent of the $130,000 in sales came from the sale of used clothing. “People come in for good stuff at low prices,” says Joannette. But sales have been on a downward trend in recent years, she adds, and “we have to sell to be able to exist.” Sales in 2018 were down approximately $53,000 from 2016. “We have to think about the money if we want to create more jobs,” Joannette points out.
In the recent past Joannette has taken the friperie in many different directions. A year and half ago FCH received a grant of $10,000 to launch “Pure” brand products, a line of natural shower gels and cleaning products that are locally produced. Sales are slow but growing. “We work for the environment,” Joannette says, but being financially viable is a must if the goals of the friperie are to be met: “We want to create more jobs for people in the town.”
FCH recently posted another appeal to the public to hold on to their donations until the store’s doors open once again. It seems that individuals have been stealing donations at the red box. The notice added, “Without your precious donations, the thrift store will not be able to open and survive the extended closure.”