DETROIT — When Stephany Watkins entered Christian Tabernacle Church in Southfield, Mich., last month to get some free clothing, the 55-year-old Detroit woman — recently unemployed — was expecting what she had seen at other centers for people in need: a table full of old clothes or maybe crumpled bags of garments.

But inside the church was a boutique that looked more like the women’s clothing section of a department store. Name-brand suit jackets like Anne Klein hung on racks. Designer shoes were tastefully arrayed near the entrance. And two attendants with wide smiles attended to her, listening to her needs.

After trying on several outfits, Watkins left with a black chiffon dress with ruffles coupled with a pair of shoes with rhinestones — all packed in tissue paper in department store-like bags.

“It didn’t feel like hand-me downs,” Watkins said. “They made me feel like, this is just for you. … It was like you were in an expensive store.” 

Called Legacy Clothing Boutique, the new program began in May at the nondenominational congregation with about 5,000 members. It’s just one example of the push to preserve the dignity of those less fortunate while providing crucial assistance. There are thousands of places that have long given the poor and homeless free clothes. But churches and nonprofits are working to make the experience more pleasant as many continue to face economic challenges.

It’s the small things that can make a big difference — the way clothes are arranged, how people are greeted and even the bags the clothes are placed in, according to those who work with people in need. At Christian Tabernacle, the goal is not only to help women with clothing needs, but boost their self-esteem. In the corner of the boutique is a box of Kleenex because some women who get clothes there start crying, so moved by the experience.

“They’re not expecting what they see and experience here,” Judy Miller, coordinator at Legacy Clothing Boutique, said. “Every woman has a heart and deserves to be treated with dignity.”

With many people living on the economic edge, the demand for such services is high. In some cases, the women’s clothes are paired with job services aimed at helping women get back into the workforce. At Jackets for Jobs, a Detroit nonprofit, and churches such as Fort Street Presbyterian in Detroit, career services are provided along with suit jackets and blouses.

Inside what used to be a gymnasium at the Presbyterian church, Benjamin Ogden of Oak Park, Ill., points to a rack of clothing that’s for needy and homeless people.

“We try to duplicate some sense of a retail establishment,” says Ogden, director of a social services program at the church. “We keep the dignity as high as possible. Here, it doesn’t feel like you’re going to a clothing bank and being handed a bag of clothes. We have people who work with the guests one on one, to help them match clothes, shirts with suit jackets.”

In 1967, the church started the Open Door, which provides an array of services for about 500 people every week. As part of that, a weekly program called Career Closet focuses on those seeking jobs, offering them dress clothes, along with interview and résumé assistance.

About 85 percent of the roughly 30 needy people in that program are women. And, like other centers, “We get a lot more women’s clothing donated than men’s clothing” because women are often more likely to get rid of old clothes, said Ogden.

The set-up inside the Presbyterian church is not as upscale as the Southfield boutique, but it’s more inviting than what you would find in other places that serve homeless people. There are books in the corner that people can borrow, and a barber’s chair in another where they can get free haircuts. It’s important, said Ogden, to give people options; this helps them feel a sense of control.

“We help them go through the racks to find what fits their needs best. … It feels like you’ve gotten care, not a service,” he said.

SeQuanda Baker, 37, of Detroit, who bounces from home to home with her five sons, also visited the Southfield church last month after hearing about it through a friend. She got three pairs of shoes, a Gucci purse, pants, a black wool skirt and a “purple sweater that I fell in love with.” The assistants encouraged her to try clothing with more color.

“They helped me change the style of clothing that I usually wear, which is a good thing,” said Baker. “And they give you a boutique bag,” she added. “It wasn’t a grocery bag, a garbage bag. … I had a smile on my face.”