As the cost of food and energy has soared over the past year, many households across the country have had to cut back or make do on other essential items – including furniture and household items. In Sheffield, one organisation committed to alleviating this is St. Vincent’s Furniture Store, as the only free furniture provision in the city that provides big and small items including beds, sofas, dining table sets and toasters to those in need of them. This fantastic organisation in Sheffield is the Community Support Project of the UK-wide St Vincent de Paul Society, and is one of thirty-one organisations to have benefitted from our Greater Together Foundation Resilience Fund.
This total funding of £200,000 has been set up and distributed over the past six months to organisations that demonstrate a commitment to supporting our communities through the cost of living crisis, around a range of core themes. One of these themes is fuel, furniture and food insecurity, thus St. Vincent’s Furniture Store was well placed to apply successfully for this.
Great Places has been working with St. Vincent’s Furniture Store since before this was set up, being one of their service users. Through our existing working partnership, we regularly refer to them our customers who are in need of such household items, and donate furniture or household items to them from our own void properties. Our work at Great Places has long been supported by St Vincent’s in this way, and whilst already a two-way partnership, this funding of £6,000 served a fantastic purpose to give something in return, in a way that truly benefits our communities.
As more and more households are struggling, demand for the service St. Vincent’s provides has undoubtedly increased, and this funding has helped them to meet this demand across Sheffield. Whether it’s supporting long-term residents with the basics, such as replacing damaged or broken furniture, or helping formerly homeless people into their first secure property, our funding has helped with capacity. It has directly helped with maintaining stock levels of their most requested items, beds, as well as covering the cost of the extra support they provide; emergency food parcels delivered by vans to the customers they identify as being most in need.
Shannon Gabbert, Regional Trusts Fundraiser for St Vincent de Paul Society (England and Wales), commented on the significance of the support from Great Places:
We are always appreciative of the support our partners provide. In a time when referral rates for our service have increased significantly and the cost-of-living crisis is pushing more people into poverty, funding like what we have received from Great Places is essential to us being able to deliver our vital service to those most vulnerable in Sheffield.
Steven Gayle, our Community Partnerships Manager in the Sheffield and South Yorkshire area, said:
Great Places are pleased to continue to develop our longstanding partnership with St Vincent’s Furniture project. This is an exciting project that aims to support residents in a time of need by providing practical assistance with key furniture and household items; helping to turn their properties into homes.
