Joanie is on a quest to help those in need

She provides clothing for the homeless and the poor in Sandpoint, as well as counseling for the poor-in-spirit. People know her as “the clothes lady,” and they cherish her.

“She’s an angel on Earth,” said Sandpoint’s Misty Schubert about Joanie McClure, who is on a quest to help others with clothing and basic living supplies they need.

“She makes sure everyone is clothed,” said Crista Bushell, who drives an older friend to the Friday evening soup kitchen at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church each week.

“Joanie makes Sandpoint a truly special place,” said Eric Whitworth, a soup kitchen attendee and friend of Joanie’s.

Joanie, who does not really believe in last names and doesn’t like to use them, is the tall, elegantly appointed slender woman of 73 who carries bags of used clothing to churches and to people who are struggling financially. Some of these people are living in compromised situations—maybe in their car or in a tent. She has a way of finding out about people’s needs; she is in touch with the underbelly of Sandpoint, but doesn’t categorize people that way. “I just believe we are all one,” she said.

Donations come her way from generous friends, the Bizarre Bazaar, Healing Hands, Healing Hearts, and she and her husband go to garage sales to find quality clothing, towels, linens, socks, blankets, and books to give away. Acquaintances who know her mission, drop off bags of clothing, linens, towels and other basic living items. Recently, she left for a short trip to California, and returned to find 10 fully stuffed bags on her porch.

It takes time to go through all the donations, but she organizes them and transports them to the Gardenia Center’s soup kitchen on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The clothes disappear quickly. Some take clothes for their family and also for others in their network who are struggling.

“Even with all the donations, we need men’s clothes of all sizes,” she said.

She also provides clothing for the United Methodist Church’s clothing closet, and said the UMC is fortunate to have a room to store sleeping bags, boots, sheets, etc.

Joanie is now spearheading an effort to raise money for shower vouchers. She wants to help people improve their hygiene in order to apply for, or to keep, a job, and to feel good about their appearance.

Working in collaboration with Litehouse YMCA, the United Methodist Church is administrating shower vouchers; donators may buy vouchers for $2 each. (Send donations to the United Methodist Church, 711 Main Street, Sandpoint, and mark it specifically for shower vouchers.)

Recently, she asked a woman at a soup kitchen if she wanted to join her at her table. The woman was incredulous, and asked, “You’d sit next to me?”

“I feel my heart is open. I know my purpose is to love people unconditionally and to help with clothing and basic living needs,” she said. Class differences she doesn’t seem to notice.

Joanie grew up on welfare and had to start working at age 12. There were no food banks in those days. If her family ran out of food, friends would provide it. Even so, she dressed well in name-brand clothes. “My mother took me to rummage sales in Marin County, so we’d get name brands for little cost.”

She will take requests from people. “I asked a homeless man to give me a list of what he needed. We were able to find him 95 percent of his requests to get him on his feet. I’ve heard he has a job now, and a place to live.”

Last week, Joanie was spotted in Healing Hands, Healing Hearts in search of baby clothes for a mother in need. “Jon and Cathy (Pomeroy) are wonderful and are always willing to donate from what they receive in the donation shed behind the Church of God on Division Street.”

The next day she put out blankets and donated linens at the Gardenia Center. One soup kitchen attendee lives in an apartment riddled with mice. This woman picked up a thick blanket to cover the urine stains from mice that inhabit her mattress. Even with many mousetraps set, and with invitations to alley cats to drop in, she and her husband cannot stay on top of the problem. She was thrilled to have a new solution, however temporary.

Joanie holds a master’s degree in education and counseling, but instead of working in an office somewhere, Joanie and her husband, who have soft spots for children, opened their home to foster children; in fact, they cared for 108 children while living in California.

With a background in Science of Mind, a belief system asserting that individuals, through prayer and meditation, can heal physically and spiritually, find self-confidence, and an ability to express love. Joanie is also a healer, practicing principles on others that she used to heal herself, with divine intervention, from a broken sternum after a terrible automobile accident. Her doctor was astonished by her miraculous healing, she said.

She utilizes Reiki, a form of energy healing. “I believe in angels, entities, and I know that everything happens for a reason. I’m very alternative,” she said.

She does not meet with people for weekly counseling sessions; she is not that kind of counselor. She does not accept money for her sessions except in rare cases. “Sometimes a person will help me with our gardens for payment,” she said.

She worked with a local woman last week to release stored emotional trauma in her body. Joanie asked that a donation be sent to purchase shower vouchers for those without access to water or cleanliness.

Joanie and Jay McClure grow vegetables and donate them to the cooks who make the soups at the soup kitchens. Attendance at soup kitchens in Sandpoint continues to grow; therefore, she said they will have a very large garden this year.

“Every Wednesday we are serving up to 100 people homemade soup, homemade bread, crackers, drinks, and beverages,” she said, and volunteers are needed. “Call Carla, 208-264-0176 to volunteer in our kitchen,” she added.

Or call the clothes lady herself at (415) 722-1510, but don’t bother with your last name.

Susan Drinkard writes features for the Daily Bee. She can be reached at susanadiana@icloud.com.