Good Neighbour became a fixture in the downtown core during the pandemic, providing a place for Calgarians to thrift and as a way for social service agencies to meet those most in need.

But after their lease ended, it wasn’t clear where Good Neighbour would end up or how their altruistic mission would continue.

But returned it has, with a renewed focus on providing support for vulnerable Calgarians, connecting them with social services and agency support, while also splitting off the thrift side of the store’s business to make it more focused on serving Calgarians.

“We had about 30 days to move out of an 18,000 square foot building and find a new home. So, in this location, the Central United Church basement, we’ve been able to partner with the Central Outreach Hub to get the space for free for us to operate our program,” said Alice Lam, founder of Good Neighbour.

She said that previously, Calgarians were encouraged to donate clothing and also thrift shop at Good Neighbour, while at the same time the shop was being used to provide no-cost clothing and services to vulnerable individuals.

That mix didn’t always lead to people knowing quite what to do at the store, said Lam. That thrift component has been moved to a non-profit store location in Chinatown called Good Thrift, which fundraises for Good Neighbour.

“It allows us to keep the [Good Neighbour] store free, basically. So, no longer do people feel like they have to make a donation in order to grab the items; they can just take up to 10 items per day per person,” she said.

“That store is a great way for us to also increase brand awareness. There’s quite a few Calgarians that are like, ‘oh, I want to support Good Neighbor, but I feel bad shopping at Good Neighbour, obviously, because it’s meant for emergency clothing for people.’ So, they come to Good Thrift, they’re still able to find great deals priced very affordably—less than what Value Village charges.”

Low pressure space to give and receive help

Lam said the other change making a big difference in the new space is that a more focused mission allows for more grassroots innovation to help people.

“What’s great about this space is that there’s not a ton of red tape, there’s not a ton of bureaucratic barriers. So if we want to start an English program, we could. If we wanted to start an art program, we could. It’s just kind of whatever the customers that come here tell us they need, we’re able to respond to,” she said.

“I think that the difference between here is we have lots of space to do that. The other location, it was purely just a store, and people were always wondering how do we turn this into a hub where I can hang out and get support. For us, we’re constantly able to have conversations with local nonprofits and charities about how can we collaborate to turn this into the this hub that the church envisions.”

Brad Pert, Day Space Coordinator for the Central Outreach Hub, said that the hub’s model for helping was a low-pressure one for both the individuals receiving help and for the non-profits that set up shop.

“It’s a model we can expand upon, too, because it is so simple. It’s just a matter of bringing people here who are willing to do the work. We can set up a table for anyone who wants to engage the community, and we have space for everyone who wants to engage with the community,” Pert said.

“We’re so blessed to have the amount of space here we do, and we’re just trying to put it to good use. The options are endless, like everyone who comes in here is inspired to do something that’s special to them and, in turn, special to everyone else.”

Of the more than 1,000 people that the hub serves each week, around 600 of those individuals have been taking advantage of the new Good Neighbour space.

“These are folks who are typically in different varieties of situation, whether it be in-house, unhoused, living rough, new to the country, new to the city, or people just getting back on their feet. We deal with a lot of people in recovery who are just looking for a second chance,” said Pert.

“We have a lot of people who have served time coming out of here. They’re not necessarily employable elsewhere, but they’re all welcomed here, and they’re all willing to work here and put in an effort. We’ve seen a lot of people change their lives through working here.”

Church provides low-cost space that is unavailable elsewhere in downtown

Lam, who also works as a partner in a commercial real estate firm, said that the central business district has priced out a lot of non-profits, and that the space that is available has not always been conducive to providing support services.

“You don’t want to go to the 20th floor of an office building to go see a settlement officer. This space is just natural. People come to us because they need basic needs such as clothing and toiletries, but then they see the other agencies, and it’s an intimidating atmosphere for them to kind of just have a casual conversation,” she said.

“Entering those doors can be quite intimidating, especially for people who are entering into homelessness for their first time. We’re seeing more and more because of the economy, people who used to be middle class have fallen into desperate economic situations.”

The benefit, she said of the new Good Neighbour Space, was that there is no ask for proof of income and they are open Tuesdays through Sundays.

“They’re saying, ‘oh, I didn’t know that the social agency was actually open to me as well.’ So, they can actually access and learn about these programs that the city does have to offer, that they normally may not know how to reach.”

For more details, see www.goodneighbourcalgary.com.