For those without a lot of money or looking for a bargain, the Salvation Army Thrift Store on Fourth Avenue has been the place to get used clothes and household items at an affordable price.

It’s also been a place where Whitehorse residents find treasures they might not get elsewhere – an obscure board game, unique mug or maybe a book that just isn’t on the shelves of most bookstores or the library.

On April 12, the thrift store will close its doors and cease operations, it was announced Wednesday afternoon.

The four full-time, eight part-time and casual employees at the store were informed Wednesday morning.

The store closed for the day to allow staff some time to process the decision, Ian McKenzie, executive director for the Salvation Army in Whitehorse, said in an interview Wednesday afternoon.

It was set to reopen today with a closing out sale set to continue until the final day of operation in April. Staff will also be providing hand-outs for any customers with questions about the closure.

“It’s a difficult decision without a doubt,” McKenzie said, noting the Salvation Army has operated a thrift store of some sort and at different locations throughout its 40 years in the territory.

In the last few years, operating costs for the thrift store have exceeded the revenue.

More and more staff time has had to be dedicated to processing the massive amounts of donations that come in.

While most of the donations are still useable and make their way onto the sales floor, there are many that aren’t – with the Salvation Army having to deal with the disposal at the landfill.

The Army eventually fenced off the rear of the building to discourage people from dumping unusable items at the back door outside business hours.

While the Army has done everything it could to cut costs and run more efficiently and has involved the staff in that process, the measures just weren’t enough to keep the store going.

Several years ago, it began closing Friday evenings, when it used to be open, and, last December, closed Thursday evenings as well.

McKenzie noted the focus on keeping the store going also was also taking away from the core services the local Salvation Army also offers in the form of its emergency shelter and running the Yukon Adult Resource Centre.

“We’ve been tackling this situation together,” McKenzie said of the store staff.

While the financial difficulties the store was facing have been known to staff, he said, the news of the closure is “still a shock” for them.

Employees at the store will be provided with access to an employment assistance program offered by the Salvation Army, which provides counselling, financial advice, assistance with job hunting and other services, depending on exactly what each individual needs.

The Salvation Army, he said, will continue its work to meet the needs of the marginalized in the community through its many other programs.

“We are grateful to our community donors, the customers and the staff who have supported the thrift store over the years,” McKenzie said.

“It is never easy to see something come to an end, but the Salvation Army’s commitment serving this community is unwavering and ongoing.”

Officials with the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition and Raven Recycling Society said the thrift store was “a valuable service” to the community.

Coalition co-chair Bill Thomas noted today the thrift store provided employment in the community and was also a place where those with limited budgets could get cheaper goods.

“That has to be kept up, it seems to me,” he said.

The group may discuss at an upcoming meeting what sort of alternatives there could be in the community for such a service to be offered after the thrift store closes, he added.

While Thomas noted the large volumes of donations speaks to the generosity of the community, he also noted the processing of such donations is an issue that continues to come up.

A Whitehorse Connects event (which provides services to more vulnerable people in the community) held last year saw so many donations of clothing and the like come in that storage space had to be found.

There were donations from that are still to be given out at this year’s Whitehorse Connects event.

Meanwhile, Joy Snyder, the executive director of Raven Recycling, which is also part of Zero Waste Yukon, said it’s clear there has to be some sort of community-wide solution to the issue.

“The problem needs to be solved,” she said.

She said she was sad to hear about the closure of the thrift store, again highlighting the service it provided to the community.

She’s expecting its demise to mean more items coming into Raven’s free store, which has already seen an increase in items following the closure of the city’s free store at the landfill.

Fortunately, Snyder said, Raven recently learned it would receive a Community Development Fund grant it applied for that will allow it to hire a staffer who will be on-hand at its free store to collect data on materials and volumes of goods being dropped off there.

From there, she’s hopeful the need will be evident for a community solution to move forward.

The closure of the thrift store is a step back for reuse and zero waste in the city, Snyder said, noting that the shop has been a “long-standing, vibrant” part of that for many years.

“They provide a valuable service on many levels,” she said.

Zero Waste Yukon, with funding from the city, recently published a reuse guide advising residents on where they can donate or sell reusable items around town.

It can be downloaded from the organization’s website at zerowasteyukon.ca