Recent figures from the SVP Sheffield Furniture Project in Sheffield show that the number of people they’ve helped over the past year has doubled compared to the same time during the 2022/23 period.
Nearly 2,500 families, children and individuals have been given furniture through the charity over the past year to give them the basic foundations to make their house a home.
Earlier this year, the project made an urgent plea for furniture after demand outweighed donations, where the centre was seeing up to 60 calls a day for their help.
A recent article published by End Furniture Poverty highlighted how more than 6 million people across the UK are currently living in furniture poverty. It also sheds light on how many people do not have essential furniture in the form of cooker equipment and beds.
"A bed, a mattress, bedding, pots and pans, cutlery, a cabinet... these are all items that most people take for granted, something that they’ve just always had. But unfortunately, that isn’t the case for so many people across the country,” explains Centre Manager at SVP Sheffield Furniture Project, Tracy Haycox.
“Essential furniture is something that every person should have access to, not a luxury. But unfortunately, furniture poverty is a real crisis across the country, and we are trying so hard to help as many people as possible across Sheffield to equip them with these basic items.
“This year has been our busiest year on record, we get an unprecedented number of calls for help on a daily basis, sometimes up to as many as 60 a day.
“We’ve seen instances where our help is in such demand that when we collect a donation there isn’t time to unload it from the van, we just deliver straight to someone in need.”
Currently the centre is pleading for donations so they can continue to help those who need it most. Anyone who has any unwanted furniture items are being asked to consider donating to the centre.
Donations can be collected from residents in Sheffield with drop-offs always welcome. The charity has recently widened it’s collection area to include parts of Rotherham including Brinsworth, Treeton, Catcliffe, Waverley, Whiston, Bramly and Wickersley.