Market Street Mission Thrift Store - Jersey Shore (formerly Jersey Shore Rescue Mission Thrift Store) — Local services in Asbury Park

Hard to fully understand the mindset of those in charge here. That is because I never met them. The day to day operations is handled by “program graduates”. From what I could tell their programs relies heavily on the same threadbare Christian dogmatic drivel that has failed in the past. I can state without equivocation that in this case that dogma only serves to enable self-destructive patterns of behaviors among those they profess to be helping. This is proven out in the monthly census of services. They interact with a fraction of people at the start of each month than throughout the last 3 weeks. This is owing to the hard reality of addiction that religion can never address. That being when flush with benefits checks most choose drugs, drink, and cheap hotels over hot meals and warm beds.

I was forced to attend nightly Chapel services conducted mostly by inexperience laypeople themselves not long from addictions. It was at these services where time and time again I was made to feel that as a Jew I had no hope unless I fulling accepted their concept of god and only their’s. This attacked will always fall on deaf ears. If I was even the slightest bit invested in the city of Asbury Park I would place a call to the ACLU. But alas this review will be the last bit of brain power I will expand upon the Jersey Shore...

These folks, for the most part, are great - heard some guy in their break area criticizing ppl on food stamps, and I just found it insane in a place that is meant to help ppl 🤢. Anyway, absent that person, the prices are reasonable and allow for the community to afford not just necessities, but also at times nice things (found some great quality winter boots for 10 bucks!). I got the feeling that they believe in their mission, and overall want to do good for the community. There’s so much grift and greed everywhere these days, it’s refreshing to come into a thrift store and find items priced at thrift store prices, and to know that the money does good work. I hope they continue in this spirit, and I will continue to...

I like nothing about this place. It has an awful smell, I think it was just a stroke of bad luck, but the woman there at the register was hostile during my visit, and checked out my purchases, looking at me like I was getting away with something by paying their marked prices, and they are actually dumb enough to deface their merchandise with inventory / price stickers that do not remove cleanly? I got a bad vibe all the way...