Furniture Poverty
A Hidden Crisis
For nearly 25 years, A Wider Circle has led the way in alleviating furniture poverty in the Greater Washington, DC region. Every year, our Essential Support program provides more than 3,500 households with beds, basic home furnishings, and other home essentials.
However, the crisis of furniture poverty persists in our region, across the country, and beyond. In fact, over 90% of low and no-income households at some point in time will lack critical furniture items that make their homes safe and functional for their families.
Shedding light on this hidden crisis is just the first step to working towards long-term solutions to ensure all families have the items they need for a safe, stable, and functional home.
Furniture poverty by the Numbers
…estimated to experience furniture poverty at some point in time.*
*Data Source: Furniture Poverty, A Hidden Crisis
published by A Wider Circle in July, 2024
What is Furniture Poverty?
Furniture poverty is defined by the United Kingdom’s End Furniture Poverty campaign as “the inability to access, or afford to maintain, the basic furniture and appliances that provide a household with a decent quality of life.”
Furniture stability is a term A Wider Circle has adopted to signify that a family has all the basic items they need to function well and that these items are safe to use and in dignity condition (meaning they are free from rips, dents, and stains; they are items people would pass on to their loved ones).
Furniture poverty can force families to use trash bags for clothing storage and rely on folding chairs as their only seating options.
91% of families served by A Wider Circle’s Essential Support program in 2023 reported that, after receiving furniture, they were now better able to provide for themselves or their families.
The importance of affordable housing and solutions to end homelessness are rightfully emphasized in the social services realm as well as public and private funding priorities. At A Wider Circle, we have seen that merely having access to housing is not the same as having a place to call “home” if it is missing basic furniture. If four walls are the container, then furnishings are the ingredients that give the space utility, functionality, comfort, safety, respite, and shape.
Learn more about furniture poverty, its impact, and how we can address it in A Wider Circle’s July 2024 report, A Hidden Crisis: Understanding and Addressing Furniture Poverty.
What We’re Working On
- This spring and summer, we’re conducting a national study with other furniture banks across the country to understand how furniture banks work to alleviate and end furniture poverty, and validate our estimates of the scope of the problem nationally.
- We’re currently interviewing interested clients on the impact of furniture poverty before their appointments at A Wider Circle.
- We’re working with legislative experts and policymakers to shine a spotlight on the problem of furniture poverty and find creative solutions to address it.
Additional Resources
You can check out the following resources for further reading, watching, or listening about furniture poverty:
- Understanding Furniture Poverty from the UK’s End Furniture Poverty campaign
- The Power of Furniture to Fight Poverty from The Business of Home
- Furniture Poverty – Season 3, episode 1 of the Sociology Ruins Everything podcast, featuring AWC Chief Program Officer Eddy Ameen and sociology researcher/AWC intern Gergana Hardy
- The Sleepless Lamp – This video from Ikea Canada illustrates the problem “Sleep Poverty” for children who lack beds, bedding, or other essentials needed for a good night’s sleep.
