Home to Stay Program Furniture Donations

HELP END HOMELESSNESS

CALL 312-746-8545 to donate beds, sofas, dinette sets and dressers. We pick up from your home!

Home to Stay helps the homeless AND the environment.

KEEP FURNITURE IN USE...NOT LANDFILLS!

Is your place of worship, block club, civic organization or neighborhood association looking for a meaningful community project?

Organizations can support the effort to end homelessness in Chicago by sponsoring a neighborhood furniture drive. Donations help homeless families and individuals who are newly housed, furnish their homes.

Furniture Donation Without The Heavy Lifting!

You will promote the drive, screen donation calls and coordinate a pick-up schedule. The Salvation Army will collect furniture items directly from donor homes.

Sponsors Role

The Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) works closely with sponsor organizations to ensure their furniture drive is easy, organized and successful.  The Salvation Army picks up donated items from individual homes.

Call the Department of Family and Support Services 312-747-9972 to begin planning a furniture drive today!

Donor Questions

Chicago has a ten-year plan to end homelessness. Rather than placing people in homeless shelters the goal is to find them permanent housing with supportive services. We know that people respond better to job training, education, substance abuse treatment and other services when they have peace of mind about their living situation.

Along with housing comes the need for furniture. Homeless people have few resources to equip a home. Gently-used, donated furniture can help turn an empty apartment into a warm, functional living space.

Social workers that assist homeless clients identified four furniture items for donation. They are: beds, sofas, dinette sets and dressers. These are basic items most commonly needed by homeless families or individuals moving into permanent housing.

By limiting the number of furniture items collected and establishing standards for acceptance we can help enforce safety and ensure that pieces are in good condition to create a respectful home setting.

The Home To Stay program is designed to offer homeless clients a choice. It is empowering for an individual to walk into a store and select a piece of furniture that meets their specific needs. This is why the program is based on vouchers.

The Salvation Army issues the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) vouchers in exchange for furniture that is generated through the Home To Stay program. DFSS allocates the vouchers to organizations that work directly with homeless clients. Vouchers are only given to homeless individuals and families who are moving into permanent housing. Clients can take the vouchers to any of 14 Salvation Army Thrift Stores in Chicago and redeem them for the bed, sofa, dinette set and/or dresser of their choice.

Your donated furniture becomes inventory at a Salvation Army Thrift Store. While we can’t guarantee that homeless clients will select your item, you can take satisfaction in knowing that your donation enabled a homeless individual to get the furniture that best served his or her needs.