The ReStore in Simcoe will close this coming October, according to Habitat Heartland’s board of directors.
We reached out to Sean Ferris, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Hamilton, who is currently volunteering his time to support Habitat Heartland through its current transition period. Ferris said via email that “At Habitat we engage communities to build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter. The purpose of the Habitat ReStore is to generate funds to support affiliate operations in our work to provide affordable homeownership opportunities. ReStores that are unable to contribute to that goal don’t support the sustainability of the affiliate as a whole.”
This implies that the Simcoe location was not profitable. There are members of the community that were under the belief that this was simply a case of astronomical rent. We asked Ferris if Habitat Heartland had considered an alternate location, but they had not. He replied that, “There are no plans to move locations at this time, and we intend to serve the communities through our other locations, primarily the ReStore location at 80 Morton Ave E in Brantford, but we will review opportunities as they arise.”
Ferris added that “We do not rule out the possibility of a future ReStore in Simcoe, but at this time, we are restructuring our ReStore business and will focus our efforts on our remaining ReStores.”
Many in Norfolk are struggling and thrift stores like ReStore can certainly help. We were curious if any consideration had been given to the impact this will have on the community? Ferris replied by saying, “Of course we’ve taken the community into consideration. For the last seven years we received support from local volunteers, donors, partners and shoppers. We rely on that support and we are tremendously grateful to the community.”
If the community are looking for ways to help the Simcoe Restore, Ferris suggested the following, “We encourage the continued support of volunteers, donors and shoppers through October, and ongoing appreciation for the Simcoe ReStore team’s hard work and dedication.”
The Simcoe Restore location is set to close in October, 2024, however those plans may be subject to change.
Written by Jeremy Hall