Building new lives one table at a time
November 15, 2008
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Jennifer Brown
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
A charity that helps clients put homes back together with used furniture faces homelessness itself as it reaches the end of tenure at 200 Madison Ave.
Two years ago Tim, a 44-year-old single dad found himself in a Toronto men's shelter addicted to drugs and booze. His son was in foster care and he knew he had to find a way to turn his life around.
A trained carpenter, he had skills he could put to use if someone would just give him a chance. He spoke to a counsellor at the Fort York Men's Hostel where he was living who suggested some time volunteering at a place called the Furniture Bank might help. She told him it was a non-profit organization that collects gently used furniture and household items and uses it to help people starting from scratch furnish their apartments.
Tim volunteered for 200 hours before eventually being hired on part-time at the Furniture Bank. He now works full-time at the organization and has been there for about 18 months.
He had about five months' sobriety when he first arrived at the organization and has now passed the two-year mark.
"I was living in a homeless shelter with no job, no prospects, drug addicted and alcoholic. Honestly, I don't think I would have hired myself. But this is where I got my start again," he says. "I'm a carpenter so I thought that was a pretty good fit."
Tim began by doing repairs to the furniture that came through from donors. It allowed him to apply his trade and get focused on the future.
"My son was in foster care and all I knew was that I wanted to get him into my care. I just had to get out somewhere and do something."
He was eventually hired part-time. He also got a second job part-time at Goodwill. Between the two jobs he managed to save $3,700 while staying at the hostel and eight months later was able to rent his own two-bedroom apartment. When it came time to find furniture for his place, he naturally used the Furniture Bank.
He was able to pick out a dresser, two TVs, a stereo, computer, pots, pans, plates, cutlery, two end tables and coffee table for his living room. As well, he took home two couches and nightstands for his room and his eight-year-old son's room. He found a desk for the boy's computer and pictures for the walls. For the lot, he made a $500 donation to the Furniture Bank. (On average it costs about $433 to provide furniture for one family from the Furniture Bank.)
It took some time, but last November Tim was able to get his son to come home on weekends and now has full custody again. He is also now the one who takes clients through the Furniture Bank showroom.
"I've seen a lot of clients come through here and they walk in with their heads down and ashamed, but they leave here with tears of joy and they get what they wanted," he says. "I get to help them now. I see the happiness from people who walk in here and walk out with the stuff they need."
The Furniture Bank was started 10 years ago by Sister Anne Schenck and has helped thousands of people start new lives since then. Clients are referred by social service agencies, but they can tour the location to select their own items.
"I like to say we restore dignity," says Sean Lockhart, resource development manager with the Furniture Bank. "We have people come to volunteer here, get experience and get their own places and it's a cycle that continues to turn over."
Last year the Furniture Bank serviced 1,363 families. This year that number will to rise to about 1,500 and in 2009 it is expected to spike to 3,000 families.
"Unfortunately there is such a demand for the service we are going to double to 3,000," says Lockhart, saying the influx is due to additional new immigrants to the city and people losing jobs.
"We are in a situation where we are in dire need of financial support. Not just for the furniture but it's costing us to run the program and that's where the focus is right now."
But after 10 years at 200 Madison Ave., the Furniture Bank faces a crisis its own clients have often faced – it, too, will soon be homeless. The building, which is owned by the city, is designated to be knocked down and rebuilt as low-income housing. The Furniture Bank has been paying $1 a year to the City of Toronto for the facility but now faces the possibility of paying between $7,000 and $11,000 monthly for rent at a similar sized location in the downtown core, where most of its clients live. Most do not have cars and take public transit.
"That would be an significant impact for us; we would like someone to sponsor us so we can get another space but the other option is we will have to pay rent," says Lockhart. "We're homeless and we need the funding."
Much like a food bank, clients are referred to the Furniture Bank by social service agencies in the Greater Toronto Area. Generally the service is provided for refugees, women and children in shelters and those re-establishing homes.
"We rely heavily on people to donate their furniture," says Lockhart.
Kitchen dinette sets are the most needed.
"Everybody would like to sit at a table to eat dinner," says Lockhart. "Right now not every client can get one. We have many couches."
A single individual is entitled to a couch, a kitchen table, lamps, pictures, pots, pans and other things to outfit a home.
"It's more than just the couch. We need pots and pans and plates, bedding, towels, microwave ovens – all the things you need for your home," says Lockhart.
The impact of the Furniture Bank's ability to reuse household items is also significant. About 700 metric tonnes of furniture and other goods are diverted from landfills every year. They make new pillows from old pillows and blankets.
"We help our clients but we're also actually helping the environment, too," he says.
The Furniture Bank accepts furniture and household items in good condition. It will pick up items, but there is a nominal fee to cover costs. People who donate can ask for a tax receipt which is tied to fair market value of the items. The bank does not accept washing machines or dryers.
Visit the website at www.furniturebank.org
Toronto Star