From winter coats to children’s books, the shelves and clothing racks of the 611 Free Store hold an array of donated clothing, household goods and everyday essentials for Evanston residents in need.
On Thursday night, the Evanston Community Care Hub hosted a private open house to spread the word about its mission and new location at 611 South Boulevard. The hub includes grassroots mutual aid initiatives Evanston Community Cares, Evanston Community Fridges and the 611 Free Store.
It began with a series of mutual aid efforts launched in October, according to Evanston Community Cares co-founder and organizer Valerie Kahan. When Kahan anticipated overflow from a November food drive at Evanston Township High School, she approached the Reba Place Church about using 611 South Boulevard.
“Evanston Community Cares has been a facilitator and a connector for all of these different organizations — so procuring the space, inviting people in to utilize the space for mutual aid effort — and we are fundraising for Evanston Community Cares, Evanston Community Fridges, Sanctuary Evanston, Evanston Latinos, District 65 and District 202,” Kahan said. “We’re all just connected and collaborating.”
Since the store’s opening in December, founder Fuchsia Winston-Rodriguez has kept busy. She said she pulled two all-nighters at the Evanston Community Cares Hub last week.
Initially, the space was available for free during November and December, thanks to the church. Now, the city is paying for three more months, Winston-Rodriguez said.
After she found out that the space would stay open, it became a “scramble” to adjust from emptying to refilling the space.
According to Winston-Rodriguez, over 150 households patronized the store in December. Currently, shopping is limited to one bag per person each month, with additional shopping time available for mutual aid volunteers.
“Let’s say we have a volunteer that comes this week, and they volunteer three times. That means that they’ve earned three additional shopping days,” Winston-Rodriguez said. “They can spread them out. They can, however they want to, sign up for it. So that is like the mutual aid portion — that anybody is able to come and shop once a month.”
She added that in-demand essentials such as toiletries and household supplies do not count toward the bag limit. Instead, families can fill out a form and pick four items, which the staff will then bag and give to them. Community members can shop three days a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Evanston Community Fridges Site Lead Deanna Lesht said the space has broadened the organizations’ storage capacity.
“We weren’t expecting to have access to this space at all, and then after that giant food drive and Reba Place offering the space for November and December, we adjusted,” Lesht said. “We’ve been able to take on more than we have historically.”
The hub has also expanded what Evanston Community Fridges is able to offer beyond just groceries, Lesht added. Thanks to both the space and the influx of donations and support received since November, Evanston Community Fridges has been able to pay a few home cooks to make meals for the fridges.
“It really gives this chance to have culturally relevant food going into the fridges on a regular basis, and also for folks to get some extra income to cook,” Lesht said.
The hub continues to rely on donations and volunteers. Other high-need items include men’s clothes and children’s toys, Winston-Rodriguez said. The donations have also created a need for additional shelves and tables to organize items and keep the space accessible for shoppers.
While the future of the space remains uncertain, organizers said the response from the community has underscored the need for the hub and its services.
“Every day, someone’s reaching out: ‘How do I sign up? When can I come? When can I drop off?’” Winston-Rodriguez said. “There’s definitely a lot of interest on both sides.”
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