When the Furniture Scheme Richmond upon Thames first started, in April 1990, its home was next to the local “dump” in Kew - which certainly made an impression about the benefits of reducing the amount of bulky waste going to landfill.

The project, the only one of its kind in the Richmond upon Thames borough, originated from a homeless drop-in centre in the area, called the Vineyard. The local community, keen to help, offered furniture and other household items to assist recently-housed people to resettle. As the Vineyard did not have the space to keep these items it was agreed that a furniture project should be set up, hence the birth of what was initially called "The Furniture Exchange", then based in Kew, and now called “The Furniture Scheme”, based in Twickenham. Over the years they have built a network of contacts in the form of donors and referral agents which makes them uniquely able to shift furniture relatively rapidly from donors' home to the people who require it.

The Furniture Scheme plays a vital role in relieving poverty and helping people with their initial resettlement. Allowing people to select furniture and create an environment of their own is what helps people to bond with their accommodation. It speeds up resettlement, helping to accelerate people's movement from institutional or street life to independent living – in short, helping to ensure that people stay in their accommodation.

Homeless people are not the only beneficiaries of the Furniture Scheme; it’s good for the environment too. In 2004/05, over 130 tonnes of furniture was saved from landfill - meaning that the old dump in Kew is probably much emptier now!

Case study issued in November 2005