Oct. 30, 2020

A faith-based addiction-recovery ministry has opened a thrift store on South Minnesota Avenue.

The Thrift Shop will support the work of Washed Clean Addiction & Recovery Ministries, a transitional home that works with men to rebuild their lives.

The store is in the bright turquoise building that most recently housed Botanica Flowers & More at 3422 S. Minnesota Ave. It’s filled with furniture, clothing, shoes, accessories, home decor, kitchenware, toys and more, including wooden crosses and tables made by those in recovery at Washed Clean.

“A lot of them have never done much other than use (drugs or alcohol) and be a life of destruction,” founder Craig Nichols said. “But they can come in to the wood shop and cut some wood and sand on it, and they can look at something and say, ‘Wow! I did that. What else can I do now?’ It gives them motivation, purpose.”

Nichols, who struggled with drugs and alcohol for most of his life, and his wife, Nikki, started the ministry three years ago. The Washed Clean home at 2701 E. 15th St. can serve a little more than a dozen men at a time in the yearlong program.

“They come from treatment centers, prison, homeless areas, and we just meet them at the door, and we begin the journey with them,” Nichols said.

The Thrift Shop will help provide revenue for Washed Clean, which doesn’t receive government funding because it’s faith-based.

Volunteers will run the store, including those in recovery at Washed Clean.

“We bring guys from treatment, and for a week or two, they might not have a job, so this can be an opportunity for them to have a purpose, be involved in something that’s helping the community, service work,” Nichols said.

The other volunteers have connections to the ministry, and that’s what will set the thrift shop apart from others in Sioux Falls, said Alyssa Nix, a Washed Clean board member and owner of Posh Boutique who is helping with the launch.

“You’ll see that in their passion for the thrift shop,” she said. Nix and her small group at Embrace Church became connected to the recovery center through The Run Project, an effort to take seed money and find ways to support communities.

The Thrift Shop also will serve as a resource to connect people who are struggling or their family members with treatment options, counselors or churches, Nichols said.

“We want to reach past just being a thrift shop,” Nix said. “We want there to be a community environment too where people feel comfortable sitting on these couches and hanging out and talking to people when they come in and just having a cup of coffee or hosting small worship nights or Bible studies.”

If someone is homeless or “in a tough spot” and needs a warm coat, blanket or another item, The Thrift Shop will be there to help too, Nix said.

“We want to also just use our resources of the donations to not only raise money for Washed Clean but just to help the Sioux Falls community in general,” she said.

Donations can be dropped off during the store’s hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

“We don’t have a lot of space here, so we want to be a little bit selective on stuff,” Nichols said. “We ask that they be items of good quality. We want to be known for having quality stuff in here.”