Good Samaritan gets thrift store

COEUR d'ALENE - The Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Thrift Store is opening April 1.

The store, at 1610 N. Fourth St., will have a 4,500-square-foot sales floor with furniture, clothing, household items, toys, electronics, sporting gear and other items.

"Everything a thrift store should have," said Linda Jacquot, the store's volunteer production manager.

The sale of items from the store will benefit Pastor Tim Remington's Good Samaritan drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in Coeur d'Alene.

Remington said the money will help get people into GoodSamaritan's program who could not afford it on their own.

He said Good Samaritan gets 20 to 30 calls daily, but only approximately five of them can afford to get in. He said it's critical to get drug and alcohol abusers into the program when they are ready to commit.

"Everyone has always told me 'You need to do this,'" he said. Everything fell into place at the right time, including finding the right managers.

The new thrift store's general manager, Nancy Cafferty, knows well the value of Remington's program. Her son is a graduate of the program, she said.

"If I work here for the rest of my life, I'll never be able to pay it back," Cafferty said. Initially, she will be the only paid employee of the shop.

Good Samaritan graduates will be able to work off community service hours at the store, Remington said.

Jacquot said donations and volunteers are still needed for the shop.

"Our prices are a little bit lower than some of the other thrift stores," she said. That, she said, stems from low overhead and having only one and a half full-time employees once the shop is operating at full capacity.

The shop also has 4,500 square feet of space for production and storage.

Cafferty said the store will have a "boutique style."