Saving Souls by Saving Soles…
by Kurt Epps, The PubScout
… of donated shoes and dresses and shirts and jackets and lamps and furniture. And it’s a labor of love for Josh Torbich, Kristin Gettleman and many others who are working hard to provide for those who have lost their way.
Josh is the CEO of a non-profit organization called Christian Recovery Centers, Inc. or CRCI, and the mission of the group is to “Save Lives and Save Souls.”
With six different resources operating from Shallotte to Ash to Calabash, CRCI helps those who have substance abuse issues by getting them to detox, then by providing them with shelter, clothing, food—even toiletries—at no charge until they can get their lives back together.
CRCI runs a Men’s Center, a Women’s Center and three separate trade schools, which specialize in teaching the techniques of pressure-washing, catering and cleaning and sanitization. Residents who come through the system are offered that education for free and the hope is that they will be able to utilize their newly acquired skills in a productive way as they become re-introduced into society by embracing sobriety.
The sixth resource is the newly acquired Thrift Store just getting set up in Shallotte on Holden Beach Rd. in the former Castaways Cottage building, a 6,000 square foot facility which will offer residents free items while needed. In return, residents are required to work in the store one day a week each for men and women, while learning the ropes of running a thrift store.
That’s no small order either. On the day I stopped in, volunteers were moving around glass display cases and other furniture, while two professional organizers, Donna and Kim (below) from a company called Organized Havens, were busy sorting and displaying some 33,000 bagged items on tables. They were aiming for a February opening, though a “soft” opening might occur in January.
“Organized Havens originally offered to help us organize the Resident Center we were building in Ash two years ago,” said Torbich, “but Covid threw a monkey wrench into that collaboration. We were very happy to have them come back and volunteer to help us with this project.”
Kristin Gettleman, an affable young woman who looks way younger than her 34 years, will manage the store. She began her work for CRCI as the engagement manager when she chatted up Josh Torbich, a regular client of the gym she managed for twelve years.
“Covid did a number on the gym business,” she allowed, “and one day when Josh was working out, I mentioned to him that if he ever needed assistance with CRCI, I was available. After a two-month interview process, I was working for CRCI myself.”
As Gettleman’s managerial duties with the Thrift Store begin to take precedence, her previous role will be filled by someone else. That will likely be decided by CRCI’s nine-member Board of Directors, probably with input from both Gettleman and Torbich.
Substance abuse, of course, does not just impact the user, and some members of the Board of Directors have direct experience with the heartbreak and tragedy that can accompany caring for a substance abuser.
Of course, anyone who doesn’t want to be helped can’t be helped until they make the commitment to change their lives. And many involved in CRCI are finding productive ways of using their energies to help them do so. CRCI’s mission is ongoing, too. Torbich says the extra four acres which the Thrift Store abuts would likely make a great place for a new Women’s Center.
Donations of clothes, furniture and shoes (they have soles, too, you know) are always appreciated, but Kristin says, “ At the moment, our biggest needs are laundry detergent, toothpaste and toothbrushes, shampoo and conditioner. If you are interested in donating to the Thrift Store, contact https://crcirecovery.org/donate-items/.
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