Earlier this year, Joe Smith* and his two teenage sons lost everything when a fire consumed their home in Ossining. They quickly moved into temporary housing, but because of the pandemic, they were forced to stay put for six months.
In August, they were finally able to move into permanent housing, but didn’t have the resources to furnish their new home. When they first moved in, Mr. Smith said, they slept on sleeping bags and ate their meals while sitting on the floor of the apartment.
But once his case manager made him a phone appointment with Furniture Sharehouse, however, he said all that changed. “Furniture Sharehouse helped us with our whole dwelling. We got couches, mirrors, stuff for cooking and basically for our whole apartment,” he said. “If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have anything at all.”
*Names have been changed to preserve anonymity.
14,600+ people served since 2007
Since opening its warehouse doors in 2007, Furniture Sharehouse has provided free, donated furniture to economically disadvantaged
individuals and families in Westchester County.
Based at a hangar at the Westchester County Airport, the nonprofit pairs each client with a volunteer “personal shopper” who helps select furniture that matches each individual’s needs, space limitations and personal taste. Over the past 13 years, the organization has served more than 14,600 individuals, donating more than $4.7 million worth in furniture.
Before the pandemic, clients spent about 90 minutes touring the warehouse in-person with their case managers and personal shoppers. From March until mid-June, Furniture Sharehouse suspended operations because of the health crisis. Now that they’re up and running again, they’re leaving no stone unturned to help meet pent-up demand.
“Some families have been living without furniture for months during the pandemic,” said Kate Bialo, founder and executive director
of Furniture Sharehouse. “That means it’s all the more urgent for us to work with folks and get furniture out to them as quickly as possible.”
Remote appointments offer safety and convenience
To accommodate new health guidelines, Furniture Sharehouse’s personal shopping process has gone virtual. Instead of inviting clients to the warehouse to pick out furniture, the nonprofit offers “remote appointments” that are not only safer, but more convenient for clients
who work and/or need to stay home to care for children. During an initial 30-minute call, volunteers call the client to confirm their list of needed furniture items and learn about their personal taste and preferences.
In the subsequent one-hour appointment, the personal shoppers speak to clients from the warehouse floor, sharing photos of possible options and updating choices based on client feedback. It may lack the personal touch of an on- the-ground experience, but it still gives personal shoppers the opportunity to individualize each set of selections for their clients.
“If you’ve got a bunch of kids in the house, you don’t want to send the family a white sofa. If you have a single man, his taste is going to be different than that of an older lady,” said Bialo. “We try to tailor what is being selected for the client to make it as homey as possible for them.”
Pre-Covid, clients would also have the chance to tour a “Bonus Area” stocked with household and kitchen items, linens and various kinds of decorations. Since clients can’t personally select these items at the moment, Furniture Sharehouse now offers each client a “Welcome
Home Kit” that includes dishes, cutlery, pots and pans, and other helpful home goods. Each client also receives a handmade quilt
from Village Squares Quilters, a community partner whose members donate quilts to local families in need.
Once the remote selection process is completed, Furniture Sharehouse arranges the delivery as soon as possible, following specific safety protocols to keep clients and moving crew safe Pride in the places we live Marquette Hairston, director of the Peekskill Community
Action Program, which is part of the multi-purpose social service organization WestCOP, said it’s been so helpful for her clients to work with an agency that doesn’t just provide furniture, but can furnish every room in an apartment. Not only does Furniture Sharehouse offer a better selection of pieces, she said, the organization also stands out for its responsiveness. Even with the new Covid-era precautions,
her clients — like Mr. Smith — indicate that the process is working.
“Families can have a sense of pride when they’re getting furniture from Furniture Sharehouse,” she said. “They provide a sense of quality — for those who are receiving and those who are giving.”
And at a moment like this, when our homes have become our everything, a sense of pride in the places we live is more important than ever.
“The families that we’re working with include a lot of single mothers who have children. And, now, maybe their schools aren’t having in-person classes or they’re hybrid. Imagine that without the right furniture — a desk for the kids to sit at or a kitchen table to do homework
– everything is just more challenging,” said Bialo.
“For senior citizens, it’s the same thing. If you’re in lockdown, you need a comfortable chair to sit on, a TV to watch, a table to eat at. Now that people are stuck at home, it’s even more critical that they have things at home that make their lives as comfortable as possible.”
As for Mr. Smith and his sons? “We’re able to sit around the table and eat as a family. Furniture Sharehouse made it possible,” he said. “We even have a plant in the window.”
(Submitted)
