More Than A Roof

Homelessness is not about just lacking a roof – it is about lacking the essentials that make a house a home. Furniture poverty, or living without one or more essential items of furniture, is a problem that affects many people who are trying to rebuild their lives after homelessness. This is particularly true at the awarding of an unfurnished social home. Many vulnerable people who have potentially come from temporary accommodation, hostels, or even the streets face the prospect of living in an empty shell. This is the subject of a recent briefing paper I wrote for policymakers on why furniture poverty matters for those going into and coming from homelessness, and how living without essential furniture and appliances “sets people up to fail”.

Furniture poverty can affect people coming out of homelessness, but it can also contribute to families falling into arrears, which is one of the leading causes of homelessness. It can push people to take on high-cost credit, and those on the lowest incomes are often unable to access high street lenders, and it can mean people turn to problematic or dangerous debt to acquire essential items. Those becoming homeless then likely must lose any essential furniture items they do have in temporary accommodation. This means that people who are fortunate enough to be awarded a social home face moving into it from homelessness with nothing.

As part of this briefing paper, I visited the Whitechapel Centre in Liverpool. They are the leading homeless and housing charity in the region, and I went to them to make sure policymakers were aware of people’s reality of living without essential items when trying to move away from homelessness.

The insights of the members of staff I spoke to were incredibly valuable. They talked about how tough it is for the people they work with to have a fresh start and try and set up a life when coming from homelessness. Furniture poverty makes this even more of an uphill struggle. One member of staff told me of someone who had been living without a bed and just sleeping in their chair for nine years, as they were unable to acquire one themselves.

Another talked about how common it was for people just to live without, but that this makes it more likely for their social housing tenancies to fail. This is because living in an empty box can lead people to feel and act as if they are still homeless and even prefer their temporary accommodation or hostel they were staying in before. At least then, they have a bed to sleep in. Listening to the experiences of the staff members will stay with me for a long time, and it makes me more motivated than ever to get this briefing in front of the policymakers who can make sure people do not have to go through these kinds of ordeals.

The benefits of having all the essential items of furniture are wide-ranging. People experience improved nutrition, better rest, and a reduced mental burden to name a few. It is much more likely that someone coming from homelessness can rebuild their lives under these conditions. The Whitechapel Centre put it much better than I did; “when you help people Make a House a Home, people coming from homelessness are far more likely to improve their lives and tackle other issues such as addiction”. This means it’s essential that furnished tenancies are more widely available, and we make sure that social landlords furnish at least 10% of their housing stock.

There will be a cost to the Department for Work and Pensions for this as furnished tenancies will be paid for through the benefits system. However, the benefits significantly outweigh the costs, as our recent cost benefit analysis shows. People are much more likely to stay in their social home if they have the essential items they need, and this will reduce pressure on homelessness prevention services too. Not only is there a moral imperative to End Furniture Poverty for those who are homeless, but a financial one too. Together, we can End Furniture Poverty.

By Abby Preston