Main Street Project basement becoming donation-based ‘store’

Soon, Winnipeg’s homeless population will have their own store to shop for clothing and hygiene products, free of charge.

The basement of Main Street Project’s Main Street shelter is being transformed into a donation-based “store” where homeless people can pick out the clothes they want, instead of just accepting the donations they are given.

“A lot of the time we like to buy clothes that fit us well and look good and make us feel good. And I think it will be great to be able to offer that same experience to people in the community who may not otherwise have that opportunity,” said Cindy Titus, interim director of development at Main Street Project.

Part of the store will be named Ashley’s Closet, in memory of former Winnipegger Ashley Tokaruk.

Tokaruk worked with Main Street Project for several years, including co-creating a fashion show fundraiser called “The Runway to Change.”

The fundraiser began as a school project for Tokaruk and classmate Madelaine Lapointe as Creative Communication students at RRC Polytech in 2o17. Professional models and former Main Street Project clients walked the runway to raise money for the shelter.

Tokaruk died in 2021 while living in Toronto. She was 27.

Ashley’s Closet will be a dedicated space for women and gender diverse individuals.

The basement of the shelter has new concrete flooring and will soon receive shelves, clothing racks and bins to sort clothing donations. The walls will don murals and bright colours for a “warm, welcoming” space.

The space will have change rooms to further provide a regular retail experience for those using it.

“We want to make sure that it’s a space that people feel good going into and want to go into,” Titus said.

The shelter has had a similar model for its food bank since 2017. The pick-and-choose model provides a dignified experience and leaves those with little choice in their day-to-day some autonomy in at least one aspect of their life, Titus said.

“It just demonstrates how loved Ashley is, and everybody wants to see her vision of caring for people continue on… It’s sort of her legacy.”

“It’s all about that self-determination,” she said.

Main Street Project’s clothing donations were impacted after the Manwin Hotel next door was gutted by fire in January. Since then, Siloam Mission has been handling the donations on their behalf.

The clothing store will be located inside Main Street Project, but is available to the homeless community at large.

An online fundraiser collecting donations for Ashley’s Closet blew past its initial goal of $11,110 and had raised $43,997 as of Monday afternoon.

The donations is a testament to the impact Tokaruk had on the community.

“It just demonstrates how loved Ashley is, and everybody wants to see her vision of caring for people continue on,” Titus said. “It’s sort of her legacy.”

Main Street Project expects the space to be open within the year.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca