The charity tackling furniture poverty

Emily Wheeler, founder and CEO of Furnishing Futures, talks about how the charity got started

Furnishing Futures is a charity that tackles furniture poverty by supporting women and their children escaping domestic abuse. Here Emily Wheeler talks about what led her to set up the charity and the work they do.

How the idea for Furnishing Futures came about

I set up Furnishing Futures in response to the poverty I saw in my job as a social worker in some of the most deprived areas of London. In this role, I often had to support women to leave abusive partners, only to find themselves rehoused in empty flats without basics like a bed or oven. This devastating lack of support is a tough place from which to start again and can lead to women having no choice but to return to the perpetrators. There was practically nowhere for them to find furniture. So in 2019 I started sourcing second-hand furniture donations in my local community and delivering them directly to women in need.

In 2020, I won places on both the UnLtd and the School for Social Entrepreneurs start-up programmes. And in late 2021 Furnishing Futures registered as a charity.

What is furniture poverty?

Furniture poverty – affecting millions in the UK – means a person doesn’t have access to basic items of furniture. Less than 1 per cent of social housing comes with furnishings, including flooring and white goods. According to research by Buttle UK, more than half a million children in England don’t have their own bed, for example. For women who are escaping domestic abuse and have had to leave all their belongings behind, it can be impossible to start again without support. In addition, they often don’t have access to their finances either.

Our mission is to fully furnish the homes of these women and children by using good quality furnishings donated by the interiors industry. By doing this, we aim to help break the cycle of poverty, raise self-esteem and improve wellbeing.

How the charity sources furnishings and homeware

As with fashion, interiors brands and retailers often can’t resell returns or seconds and they frequently end up in landfill. The same issue also applies to many products used on shoots, in showrooms and for excess/dead stock. We give designers, stylists, brands, influencers and retailers in the interiors industry a sustainable solution to the problem of waste by taking their unwanted products and using them to create healing homes.

Darlings of Chelsea, Soho House, DFS, Dunelm, Hillarys Blinds, LSA International and Lux Deco are all brands that donate to us.

Decorating and furnishing the homes

We give those we support everything they need to be able to live comfortably. This includes sofas, chairs, tables and beds, but also artwork, cutlery, textiles and more. The charity fully decorates and furnishes their homes in partnership with them, so they have choices about how their home looks and feels. We often match families with volunteer interior designers and have recently partnered with Jungle, a commercial fit-out company. Jungle will be providing trades for many of the homes we refurbish, including a women’s refuge we are working on with the interior designer Rebecca Wakefield.

How you can help

Donate

White goods, furniture and homeware in excellent condition are always needed. Items are welcomed from brands, stylists, designers and members of the public. Please contact donate@furnishingfutures.org.

Volunteer

Tradespeople, painters, decorators and those with skills in fundraising, accounting, events, photography and more are needed to support the charity. Please contact volunteer@furnishingfutures.org.

Shop

Buy a charity gift online, from a Household Essentials Bundle to a Baby & Children’s Bundle, at furnishingfutures.org.