# Walnut Hill: Neighborhood Thrift Store Offers People a Second Chance

https://vimeo.com/39980880\] The Second Mile Center, a thrift store selling discount goods ranging from clothing to furniture, has been a Walnut Hill fixture for approximately 30 years. [![](https://phillyn-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/26013220/sp1225walnuthillexterior-182x275.jpg)](https://phillyn-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/26013220/sp1225walnuthillexterior.jpg)Walnut Hill residents walked by The Second Mile Center. The store, unrelated to the controversial Jerry Sandusky charity, hires ex-convicts, former drug addicts, the homeless and other local residents who may have difficulty finding employment otherwise. “They try to give people a second opportunity in life, and well, they did that for me. It’s been very beneficial,” employee Jafar Thornton-Bey said. Ronald Lucas, the associate director of The Second Mile Center, said the center is a “non-profit, Christian mission that exists to help people with life controlling problems.”

 [![](https://phillyn-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/26013219/sp1225walnuthilllucas-300x199.jpg)](https://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/2012/04/10/walnut-hill-neighborhood-thrift-store-offers-employees-a-second-chance/sp1225walnuthilllucas/)Ronald Lucas is the associate director of The Second Mile Center.  

 Aside from providing employment to those who need it, The Second Mile Center is a community-based organization and focuses heavily on connecting with the Walnut Hill neighborhood. “We try to service the community, we try to hire people from the community, we try to be a part of the community here,” Lucas said. “We have events here at the Second Mile Center where the public and the community is always invited…We are a reflection of this community.” [![](https://phillyn-media.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/26013219/sp1225walnuthillinterior-300x199.jpg)](https://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/2012/04/10/walnut-hill-neighborhood-thrift-store-offers-employees-a-second-chance/sp1225walnuthillinterior/)Manager Lamar Boone stood by the counter inside The Second Mile Center. “It’s like one big family,” employee Tracy Burch said. “Everybody gets along; there’s a lot of love here.”