on April 29, 2025
TOP PHOTO: Boutique volunteers — Seated, from left: Joan Stephenson, Theresa Smith and Kathy TenEyck. Standing, from left: Chris Dubiel, Chrissy Stephenson, Anne McNaughton, Andrea Meredith, Francesca Grimmer, Vicky Riordan, Barbara Taverne, Julie Crandall, Nancy Robert, Lynda Briggs and Nancy Sepulveda.
By Marissa Carollo | Special to the Daily Sentinel (Apr 15, 2025)
Sentinel photos by John Clifford
UTICA – The West Side Boutique sits tucked away in the site named after Utica’s saint — St. Marianne Cope — in a cozy locale upstairs from Mother Marianne’s West Side Soup Kitchen at 702 Columbia St., the home of St. Joseph/St. Patrick’s Church.
For several years, the West Side Boutique has provided a “no-cost shopping experience” for the disadvantaged — ranging from the city’s homeless to its working poor, refugees, single parents and others, including families, struggling to get by.
Lynda Briggs, of Remsen, has been a volunteer and co-director at the boutique since 2017, after a chance meeting with boutique director Nancy Robert at a local big box store. There are currently 25 fellow volunteers, Briggs said, but the popularity of the soup kitchen, boutique and hair salon is so large it makes it hard for the existing volunteer staff to keep up. In fact, she said, the West Side Boutique’s homeless clientele alone is up 40% from the previous year.
“It humbles me the amount of people that we serve,” said Briggs, who said there are many misconceptions when it comes to the community’s homeless population. “A lot of people think homeless individuals, also known as unhoused, are dirty, and they are not,” she said. “The most requested item they ask for is cleaning supplies.”
Most of them, she said, “do not have a choice” to be homeless.
“If they are in an apartment, many tell us they do not have heat, it’s scary. Most of the people that come in are wonderful and very appreciative for the kindness and help given by dedicated volunteers and donors,” Briggs said, adding that volunteers make sure donated items are of good quality. “If we won’t wear it, we won’t put it out.”
Since January, the West Side Boutique has given over 100 coats and 80 pairs of boots — along with hundreds of hats, scarves and gloves, as well as several new outfits to help people look sharp for job interviews. On average, 250 to 300 people are helped each month.
Briggs said the boutique needs additional volunteers, donations, and a licensed volunteer hair stylist, either working or retired, to cut hair once a month from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on a Monday or another day of their choice. The boutique is also always in need of new or gently used men’s clothes, sheets, towels, washcloths, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, and toiletries.
Two years ago, when the nearby Shaheen Brothers Shoe Store closed, the Shaheen family donated many of their remaining shoes and boots to the boutique, an act, Briggs said, that not only provides much-needed footwear but also hope and compassion to those who often find such commodities in rare supply.
Robert said the mission has truly given her a purpose — like it has to many of those drawn to help.
Robert, a native of south Utica, left the city to attend Le Moyne College in Syracuse to study business management. After she and her husband sold their family motel business in Tupper Lake, she continued her career as director of the Saint Lawrence County Office for the Aging. After retiring, Robert, who now lives in Forestport, was unsure of what she wanted to do next.
Her purpose, she said, became clear after she saw a line outside the soup kitchen one day in 2016 and was moved to start volunteering there. But seeking more ways to help, Robert and her sister, Pat McCraith, started the boutique after receiving approval and support from the parish and its kitchen director.
“When we are able to put a smile on a person’s face, it is all worth it,” said Robert. “At the kitchen and boutique, people are treated with kindness, dignity, respect and compassion, and that is all so important. We are all in need,” said Robert. “You can have nothing or everything, but everyone truly needs kindness and compassion.”
The Lenten and Easter season are the perfect time, Robert said, to “give of oneself to help others in need.”
The West Side Boutique has also branched out — with its support extending to Israel and Ukraine as well as to other human service agencies within Utica and surrounding communities.
Anyone wishing to donate, volunteer or provide a monetary donation for the West Side Boutique, can email Robert at nancyrobert@mmwsk.org or fill out a volunteer form online at https://mmwsk.org/volunteer/. The best day to drop off donations is Monday between 10 and 11 a.m. at the rear door, Robert said, adding emails to alert her when donations are coming and what is being donated are appreciated.