Not every thrift store exists mainly to move used goods, and Ergon Thrift in Riverview, New Brunswick is a clear example of the exception. The shop is the retail arm of Ergon Inc, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to foster a healthy environment for adults recovering from mental health challenges through advocacy, education, and inclusion. The thrift store itself opened in 1991 and has operated for decades as far more than a place to find secondhand bargains: it functions as a working training ground within Ergon Works, the organization’s employment support programming, giving members real hands-on experience sorting donations, pricing merchandise, staffing the till, and serving customers in a low-pressure, supportive setting.
Shoppers who walk through the doors at 145 Traynor Street will find the kind of rotating mix typical of a community thrift shop: clothing, household items, small furniture, books, and other donated goods priced to move and refreshed as new donations come in. But the deeper story is what happens behind the counter. Ergon Inc traces its roots back to 1985, when it began as Vocational Alternatives Vocationnelles Inc., and it has since grown into an organization running three interconnected programs. Alongside Ergon Works, there is M.I.N.D. (Moving In New Directions), which offers life skills and wellness activities for individuals referred through the Community Mental Health Clinic, and Ergon Support, a peer-led, non-clinical program for individual support. The organization also holds a long-standing, multi-decade government contract for mail and photocopy services, another avenue through which members build workplace skills. Ergon Inc additionally acknowledges that it operates on unceded Mi’kmaq territory and takes part in the Welcoming Project, reflecting a broader community commitment beyond its core recovery programming.
For donors and shoppers, that means every purchase at the Riverview storefront does double duty: it funds programming and gives adults navigating recovery a genuine place to build confidence and job-ready experience in a real retail environment, not a simulated one. The store keeps regular weekday hours, open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and is closed on weekends, which fits its identity as a structured, program-based operation rather than a typical retail business chasing weekend foot traffic. Clean donations of gently used clothing, housewares, and similar items are generally welcome, giving Riverview and the greater Moncton area a convenient outlet for items that still have plenty of life left in them.
What sets Ergon Thrift apart from a standard secondhand shop is this dual purpose: every transaction supports a recovery-oriented mission that has been part of the Riverview community since the mid-1980s, and every shift on the sales floor is also a step in someone’s employment training. Shoppers looking for affordable finds get exactly that, while also supporting a local organization built around dignity, inclusion, and practical skill-building for adults facing mental health challenges. Ergon Thrift in Riverview, New Brunswick is a not-for-profit secondhand store that has operated since 1991 as a hands-on training site for Ergon Inc’s mental health recovery and employment programs, making it a place where a bargain and a genuine community mission go hand in hand.
