Group aims to put furniture poverty to bed
Metro area organization wants to end furniture poverty
It started as a way to help one family in need.
Three years later, the Home Again Furniture Bank has helped more than 600 disadvantaged people in the St. John’s metro area get the things they need to furnish a home.
“There are people out there who have nothing. They have a roof over their heads, but no furniture,” said Amy Tulk, director of operations and one of the founders of the group.
“Having a bed or a table to eat (on) is something so many of us take for granted. You’d be surprised how many are in need — people who live four and five months with no bed.”
Founded in October 2015, the non-profit organization provides furniture and small household appliances to anyone who needs them — from those transitioning from situations of abuse, homelessness, prison or a new country, to those who are unemployed, under-employed, have disabilities or are struggling to create a new life.
In a recent interview with The Telegram, Tulk and Maureen Lymburner, the director of development, spoke about the organization’s beginnings, the joy of helping people and the desperate need for furniture to help meet the growing demand.
The idea for the organization stemmed from an Eastern Health function held to welcome a group of licensed practical nurses (LPNS) from Jamaica, who moved to Canada to work in long-term care facilities in this province.
Lymburner, who was at the event, offered to help one of the LPNS move household items into her apartment. When Lymburner realized the woman had planned to move again to another place in two weeks, but that she — as well as several other of the new LPNS — had no furniture and no way of transporting anything else, Lymburner organized a group to help.
“We were moving suitcases, housewares, boxes of books, but no furniture,” said Lymburner, then a stay-at-home mother who had taken time off from her job in social qualitative research and community development.
“Their apartments were unfurnished. I asked, ‘Where are you going to sleep? Where are you going to sit to eat?’ They said they’d get all that as time goes on.
“I was a bit flabbergasted.” Tulk got involved through a mutual friend.
Over the course of months, members of the group tied furniture and mattresses to the roofs of their vehicles, put loveseats in the back of their SUVS and picked furniture up from Kijiji ads.
Meanwhile, Tulk — who was preparing to write her real estate exam — helped register the women’s children for school and get their MCP documentation in order.
As word of their work spread, they began to get numerous requests from other people in the community who needed furniture.
“Many of them were sleeping on floors,” Tulk said.
Around this time, Lymburner watched a video about an Ottawa woman who had organized a furniture bank for refugees.
“I sent it to the ladies,” Lymburner said. “I said, ‘We need to start a furniture bank here. This is ridiculous. The need is incredible.’”
The handful of women met at Lymburner’s house and, over tea, discussed how they would organize it.
“We knew we had a good idea, but we needed to take that next step,” Lymburner said.
With support from then-city councillor Ron Ellsworth, they connected with another group in Mount Pearl, including Rev. David Burrows at the Parish of the Ascension in Mount Pearl, who had been attempting to organize something similar.
“All the (community) organizations
were crying out, ‘We need a furniture bank,’” Lymburner said. “They couldn’t take it on. They have their own mandates.”
Burrows kick-started things, and together they went to work.
The group applied for funding, but was turned down. However, with the help of the Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Bishop Geoff Peddle, they received financial support to get things up and running.
Hired as part-time hired hands as part of the diocese, Tulk and Lymburner went to work to get things going, operating as an outreach program under the Parish of the Ascension’s charity status.
The groups also received a $1,000 donation from a church member, which they used to begin deliveries. With a rented cube van and with teams of volunteers, many from the church, they delivered furniture once a week to several people in need.
The project quickly gained attention through word of mouth and presentations at various functions.
“We didn’t go public until nine or 10 months later because we were flat out,” Lymburner said. “We knew if there was any public announcement, we wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demand.
“We were steady go, but we loved every minute of it.”
As a new organization, the group had to do everything from develop policy to find more volunteers.
Meanwhile, Tulk achieved her real estate agent status the same time the group launched the project, “so it was a busy time,” she said.
Once they went public, the response was immediate.
“The partners who refer the clients, the donors, the recipients, everyone thinks it’s a fabulous thing,” said Tulk, who had just returned from a Business Association of Newfoundland and Labrador luncheon, in which she and Lymburner made a presentation about the furniture bank.
The group’s partners are 34 community agencies, including Stella’s Circle, the John Howard Society, the Canadian Mental Health Association, Iris Kirby House and the Association for New Canadians, all of which refer their clients to the group.
“It’s taken such a burden off their shoulders because they may have keys for someone going into a new home, but they wouldn’t know how long they’d stay there if they didn’t have a bed for them to sleep in,” Tulk said.
“So, it’s had a positive impact for the agencies as well.”
The group currently has about 100 volunteers, from people who sort items to those who do the heavy lifting, but more are always needed.
“We have incredible volunteers,” Lymburner said. “We would not survive without them.”
Lymburner said their mission is to end “furniture poverty,” which she said is prevalent in
the community.
“There are more of those than we anticipated, actually,” Lymburner said.
“There are people with nothing — just a hard floor and maybe a blanket and pillow. Then, there are other homes with people living with substandard furniture — a brown, ratty, ripped mattress, springs coming through, or just a piece of foam.
“A month ago, volunteers went to a home where the resident was sleeping on a piece of styrofoam, the kind that encases a refrigerator.”
She said there is no typical furniture recipient.
“There are all sorts of circumstances. There’s every sort of situation you can imagine,” she said.
“In many cases, a (divorced parent doesn’t) get custody of their kids until they have furniture and beds.”
In another case, she said, a couple in their 80s needed new furniture after their apartment was infested with bedbugs.
“There’s no way an elderly person on a fixed income can afford all new furniture,” Lymburner said.
They’re confident they are providing a necessary support.
“We’re obviously not solving the bigger problems or the more complex needs,” Lymburner said, “but this is something concrete that allows them
to move on to the next step.”
They say it’s also about people wanting to take pride in their living space.
“We want to get people off the floor, but it’s also about dignity,” Lymburner said. “We want people to be proud of the furniture we’re bringing in. We don’t want them to be embarrassed to have friends over.
“Testimonial from a client, a woman, who said after we delivered furniture to their home, her young child commented to her, ‘Now I can invite my friends over to play.’ That’s huge.”
Tulk and Lymburner say they’re happy to help so many people, but are quick to point out there are many others in need. As of this week, there were 94 people on the waiting list for furniture — the highest it’s ever been, they said.
In July, the organization received 22 referrals from community partner groups in two days.
“It’s tough keeping up with the demand,” Tulk said.
With the exception of large appliances, the group accepts all furniture donations, including tables and chairs, sofas, coffee tables, side tables, beds, dressers, lamps and smaller appliances.
The furniture must be in good condition and must come from smoke-free and pet-free homes. There’s a $25 pickup fee to cover the cost of the rental truck.
“It’s such a common-sense solution to an issue,” Lymburner said. “If you’re getting rid of something, don’t throw it away. Give it to us and we’ll give it directly to someone who really needs it.”
They were recently thrilled to receive a generous donation from Nalcor, which donated 300 twin mattresses, which are being housed in space donated by the Hutton Group.
With donated space from AMJ Campbell, the organization has some warehouse room to store furniture, but desperately needs more — preferably 2,500 square feet of space that’s donated or at a discounted price.
To contact the group regarding a furniture donation or warehouse space, click on their website at http://homeagainfb. ca.
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“When we go to these people’s homes with furniture, they express so much gratitude,” Tulk said. “It’s a wonderful feeling to see them so happy.”
“It’s such a direct and positive impact,” Lymburner added. “You know that when you leave, they have a bed to sleep in at night. And to go from sleeping on the floor or a piece of foam to sleeping in a bed is just an incredible thing.”