Furnish (Staying Put Services) help people out of short term accommodations and into homes of their own, ensuring that they can furnish their homes without it costing the earth.

Furnish was founded as a furniture project in 1992, and merged with Staying Put Services, a Home Improvement Agency, in 2004. The organisation provides furniture and electrical items to people in need, therefore helping them budget more effectively and at the same time prevent large amounts of waste being sent to landfill. Working with over 80 different Referral Agencies, they managed to supply nearly 650 families with furniture in 2004/05. Project Manager Mark Hardy believes one of the reasons why they’re doing so well is because both he and the Director of Staying Put Services have a background in social housing management so understand some of the problems of their clients and priorities of social housing providers.

The future is definitely looking bright for Furnish (Staying Put Services). Following the recent closure of another furniture project in the area, they have expanded the area they cover to all of LB Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea, and parts of Westminster, Brent and Wandsworth. They’re also talking to local authorities about ways to collect even more unwanted furniture and electrical items – helping even more people not to “stay put” in bed & breakfast  or hostel accommodation but move on to the first home of their own.

Case study issued November 2005