Maplewood book store owner also runs nonprofit for disabled

Used books dropped off at The Book House, in Maplewood, go to more than the bottom line.

Michelle Barron, who opened the book store early this year, has three children. One of them is 28-year-old Kira, who has cerebral palsy from birth from a virus — she’s developmentally disabled, and language and physically impaired. She’s often at the store in the afternoon after working her job at a center for the disabled.

Kira still lives with Barron. There are no other housing options, but Barron has been working to change that for several years.

She bought a house in 2005 to serve as a group home for the disabled but hasn’t been able to make it work.

“The idea was to have the house for my daughter, Kira and several roommates and staff, and we would get funding through the state to run the group home, but there’s no money,” she said. “They don’t help you with it anymore.”

So she formed a non-profit nonprofit called The Second Chapter Center, and runs it in conjunction with the book store. The goal is to raise money that eventually will go to either an existing group home or toward grants to help others like her daughter.

When Barron got the idea for Second Chapter she became licensed as a foster parent, and from 2005 to 2010 at times had up to seven kids in her house. She tried to license her home as a group home but was denied because there were too many books in the house.

“They were all on shelves and bins in the basement behind a fire door, but they would not license the house,” she said. “It wasn’t a hoarder’s house.”

Now, used books donated to The Book House are actually donated to the Second Chapter Center, and The Book House buys them from the nonprofit.

“It’s a tax deductible donation because it goes through the 501c3,” she said. “We have a legal funding agreement with Second Chapter.” She said a portion of all profits also goes into the fund, but added that the store hasn’t had a profit for two years.

She said she’s happy to finally have the store opened in Maplewood, with lots of good foot traffic.