Clothing Exchange changes lives one nice outfit at a time

Christine McCall

Macy DeLong was dangerously close to becoming a statistic: a nameless, faceless vagrant living on the streets.

DeLong, a runaway who was misdiagnosed with a mental illness, was homeless for nine months and lived in the city’s subways and parks. It wasn’t long before she realized that something needed to change to help the thousands of others in similar situations.

“The people I lived with on the streets became my community,” she said. And what she wanted was to make a difference in her community.

In 1989, DeLong was able to get herself off of the streets and, working with others like her who had struggled, she was eventually able to form Solutions at Work, a nonprofit organization charged with helping people transition out of homelessness. Today DeLong serves as the executive director of the organization.

Solutions at Work is now an umbrella for five different programs, one of which is Children’s Clothing Exchange (CCE), founded in 1992.

Back-to-school season can be particularly difficult for parents, who have to dig deep into their pockets to get new clothing for their children. This is where CCE comes in. In this unique program, parents can come to the store and exchange clothes their children have outgrown with free, newer clothes.

Parents can find any back-to-school clothing from pants, shirts, sweaters, jackets skirts and shoes for girls and boys up to the age of 16. All the clothing items, toys and books donated and brought to CCE go through a rigorous evaluation process and must meet certain quality requirements. Only about 30 percent of the clothing donated to the exchange passes the test and makes it on to store shelves.

“This place is great for people who need to supplement or stretch their income,” said Children’s Clothing Exchange Manager Sonya Darcy. “I think the Exchange is great in that way.”

Anyone can participate in the CCE and no referrals are needed. About 80 percent of the CCE’s participants are homeless or low-income families, and the rest of the people come in to use the clothing exchange as a convenience.

Darcy explained that one of the interesting things about the clothing exchange is how difficult it is to differentiate between those parents who are homeless and those who are not. Many parents, she says, interact with each other while they are shopping.

Connie Burpee, 55, is one of CCE’s employees and a former participant in the program. Previously homeless, she became a transitional employee at Solutions at Work years ago, and today she is helping people to regain independent lifestyles.

A transitional employee at Solutions at Work learns basic working skills, and also provides services depending on what program they are placed in: CCE, SolutionsWear, Get Connected!, Moving Up or Wheels.

Transitional employees are paid and supervised by one of the program managers who knows and understands the obstacles one faces when trying to get back into the workforce. Once the employees are ready, they have the option of entering the workforce or continuing on with Solutions at Work to become a mentor for others who will come after them.

“My love is to help people…and get clothes for their children,” Burpee said. “We help more than just the homeless; we help people of all classes to get clothing.”

The CCE has over 600 families registered in its system and estimates that it has helped more than 1,000 families. According to DeLong, families are allowed to use this service for as long as they need and in fact, employees welcome and encourage participants to keep coming back.

Though the CCE is located in Cambridge, this organization has participants that come from 31 different cities in Massachusetts and three states.

The clothing exchange is currently in need of back-to-school clothes, especially sizes 5,6,7 and 8 for boys and girls, and new socks and underwear for children of all ages.

CCE is co-sponsoring its first annual pledge walk September 24 from 2-5 p.m. called “Little Steps, Big Steps: Making Strides For Homeless Families.” DeLong said the objective of the 2-mile walk is for kids to have fun, make programs at Solutions at Work more visible and raise money for the CCE, SolutionsWear and an outside program called Birthday Wishes.

The CCE is open Tuesday through Thursday from 10-4 p.m. and recently opened on Saturdays to make it more convenient for parents who work to come in and shop for their children.

For more information about the Children’s Clothing Exchange, other programs at Solutions at Work or the pledge walk, call 617-492-0300 or visit www.solutionsatwork.org.