VIDEO – USED, NOT DAMAGED –
Feb. 25, 2024 – Secondhand clothing is giving people a second chance at life.
Two thrift stores sell gently used clothes, shoes and other items and the proceeds go to the non-profit Hannah’s Haven. It’s a residential recovery home for women battling addiction and other issues. Women enroll in the program for two years.
Each woman working at Hannah’s Bridge Thrift Boutique has her own story of how she became part of Hannah’s Haven. For Chelsey Johnson, her battle was addiction.
“I was addicted to crack cocaine,” she said. “I had lost custody of my son. I had court fines, debt up to my eyeballs, didn’t have a license. When I got to the Haven, I was pretty lost.”
Hailey Hinton was fighting a different battle.
“Before I came to Hannah’s Haven as a young child, I was sold into sex trafficking, so I was in sex trafficking for most of my childhood and then as I grew up, I believe that’s what my worth was found in,” said Hinton.
When both women started their jobs as sales associates at the boutique, they didn’t realize how much it would transform their lives.
“I’ve been working here for over a year,” said Johnson. “I have paid off $6,000 worth of court fines. I have saved enough money to buy a car. I’m completely debt free. I’ve gotten my license back.”
