By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
Agape Way Foundation took its first public step Thursday toward building a recovery support program in Del Rio with the opening of a new thrift store on Bedell Avenue.
Nearly 50 community leaders, including Del Rio Mayor Al Arreola Sr., city council members, justices of the peace and civic leaders, attended the noon ribbon-cutting ceremony.
For founder and program director Janelle Vera, however, the thrift store is only the beginning.
“We are launching the first phase of our program, which is the thrift store,” Vera said. “Now that the thrift store is open, we are going to dive
deep into serving the community, connecting with community leaders and developing our program, which is directly going to give services to people in recovery or who are wanting to recover.”
The store operates entirely through donations, with proceeds helping fund future recovery-related services and programs.
Vera said those services will focus on practical, day-to-day assistance for people trying to rebuild their lives after battling addiction or alcoholism.
“We are going to be dealing with hands-on support. We are going to have peer-to-peer support groups, and we’re also going to have daily meetings where people can come in and we can provide assistance,” Vera said.
One of the biggest needs the organization hopes to address is transportation.
Vera said many people seeking treatment, attending court hearings or trying to make appointments simply do not have reliable transportation.
“When people need to get to treatment, or people need to make appointments, or court dates, we’re going to try and help and fill those gaps for people in recovery,” she said.
Arreola said the organization fills an important need in the community and gives people another place to turn when they need help.
“There are people who think they don’t have anybody to reach out to,” Arreola said. “This gives them another opportunity.”
Arreola also credited Vera’s willingness to share her own recovery journey and use her experiences to help others.
“She wants to show everybody out there that there’s a way they can get that extra help,” Arreola said. “Our community is desperate for something like this.”
While Thursday’s event focused on the opening of the thrift store, Vera said the larger mission is creating a support system that helps people move from addiction toward long-term recovery and stability.
“This is just the first phase,” Vera said.
Agape Way Foundation’s thrift store is located at 513 N. Bedell Ave. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Donations of clean clothing, children’s clothing, toys, household items, small appliances and small furniture are accepted during operating hours.
For more information, call 830-453-0182.
