The owners of Highjinx, a used furniture store with a cause, Leigh Reid (left) and Karen Neilson, sort through a donation box, while the store cat Jinx relaxes on a footstool.
A retro and vintage furniture store on Somerset Street is doing its part to help out the community.
HighJinx, run by two former social workers, sells household items, retro furniture, vintage decorations, art by local artists and a wide variety of other used items.
The revenues from sales fund their homelessness initiative, which they run in the store.
“We resell donated items and oddities and things that we find, and then that money offsets the cost of case managing and housing a caseload of clients,” says Karen Neilson, one of the owners.
The basement is home to merchandise they were unable to sell, which they give away to anyone who needs it. They also offer help with finding rooms or apartments for homeless people, working with any agencies their clients may be associated with. Once a living arrangement is worked out, they help furnish it with “what they need to make it a home,” Neilson says.
The shop, which opened in May, mostly sells donated items.
“We buy very few things because we’re very conscious with the money so that it can go to helping people,” Neilson says.
Local artist Gilles Paquette sells his landscape oil paintings in the store.
“I just went by one day and asked if I could put some paintings in to sell,” Paquette says. “It was nice of them to give me a chance to sell my work.”
He sells his paintings at reduced prices for the store to help with their homelessness initiative. The paintings cost between $50 and $100.
Neilson and Leigh Reid started the homelessness initiative because they found many street people were service-resistant, meaning they didn’t fit into any of the services already provided by othesr.
“It was getting very complicated to get them the help that they needed when it didn’t need to be,” Neilson says.
“They don’t fit in all the boxes that are necessary for them to get the help that they need.”
Neilson says they practice non-traditional social work.
“There’s a lot of boundary issues with staff,” she says.
“(In traditional social work) you can’t hug a client, you can’t bake them a birthday cake, or visit with their family. Those are all the things that people need to help them integrate and feel welcome in the community.”
And it’s not just the homeless that are coming to them for help. They help seniors in the community, people with mental illness, students and anyone else who needs support.
“We do like having a sense of community in here,” adds Reid. “Anyone can drop in at any time.”
People can come in for items they may need, such as a backpack or teapot.
The shop’s black cat, Mr. Jinx, is there to provide comfort and “therapy” to the clients.
They say the community can help by providing donations or fundraising through social events.
Local café owner Krissy White says she sends her customers there all the time.
“I think they’re phenomenal women and what they’re doing is pretty freaking amazing,” White says. “The whole business exists to help the vulnerable. What they contribute to the community is amazing. It’s social work with a storefront.”
The most rewarding part of their work is seeing the resilience of their clients, Neilson says, and “how well they can do if you just hold their hand a little bit.”
“A little bit of love goes a long way.”