Out of the Closet combines thrift store with mission to improve health of those with HIV
Beyond the trendy striped T-shirts and used sunhats is a hint that Out of the Closet is a different sort of thrift store: a neon sign advertising Free HIV Testing.
Out of the Closet (OTC), at North High Street and East 5th Avenue, is a thrift store with a mission to create change in the sexual health of its Columbus community.
The store is part of AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit. Because of its owners, OTC operates less like a store and more like a charity, with about 96% of earnings going back to AHF.
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AHF serves 45 countries and is one of the largest providers of HIV medical care in the U.S.
"(AHF) had a lot of people who are wanting to help out, but didn't have like large sums of money to give to a charity, but they had stuff," said Brent Burington, manager of the Columbus store. "So they opened the first OTC in West Hollywood, California."
All the clothes and household items found in Out of the Closet are donated. Donations can be dropped off daily at the store, or picked up by the store if donors aren't able to drop it off themselves.
Like other thrift stores, OTC will accept a wide range of goods including furniture, jewelry, clothes, household items, electronics, books and art. The store has proven to be a popular destination for students as they move in and out of college apartments.
But visitors can use OTC for more than just affordable shopping. They can find free HIV and STI testing inside the store. The store also operates a pharmacy to help those with financial difficulties get medication.
AHF seeks to open thrift stores in places where HIV and STIs are higher than the national average. In 2019, the CDC listed Ohio as a top 10 state for new HIV diagnoses among adults and adolescents.
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"There's still the stigma of people ... who don't want people to know they're going and getting tested for an STI," Burington said. "It's one thing if they say, 'Oh, I'm going to the thrift store' and they just happen to pop in and get tested."
In Columbus, the testing site typically sees 40 or 50 patients a day.
"Oh my gosh, we're always busy," said Wynette Collins, program manager for the clinic. "Sometimes we have to stop taking people at roughly like 3 o'clock, if not earlier."
The clinic is open to HIV testing every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For STI testing, the clinic is open Monday and Thursday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Collins said the clinic sees patients of all ages. But AHF also targets areas with large college-aged populations Burington said.
"You get a bunch of kids away from home, away from their parents for the first time being adults," Burington said. "They don't always think the right way when they're out enjoying themselves in the evening."
Burington said he helped Out of the Closet go from a $40,000 deficit to about $70,000 in profits in his first year at the store, in 2017. The store has made a profit every year since, he said.
Before Burington came to OTC, he was an actor. He decided after marrying his now husband that he wanted to stay closer to home while pursuing a more rewarding career.
"My grandfather he used to have a saying," Burington said. "'There are jobs that pay your bank account and there are jobs that pay your soul, and if you can find one that does both, that's perfect."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Out of the Closet offers thrift store finds, free HIV testing
