Local non-profits team up to give furniture to families in need
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Families across metro Detroit have been working hard to stay safe during this global pandemic, but imagine having to do so without a safe place to live or a bed to sleep in.
The Furniture Bank of Southeastern Michigan is teaming up with another local organization to give families the means to make a home.
"We've seen the extreme toll COVID has taken on so many people over and above the 210,000 deaths, some people get really ill. And if you don't have a bed to rest in, you're going to be in a world of hurt. So with the fundraiser, we're discussing, I'm really pleased that we are working with the Community Housing Network because they are the largest housing nonprofit serving metro Detroit and they recognize that stable housing is more than just a roof over your head. We've partnered with them now and they've put 800 people in homes, more than 800 people that we have provided with furniture so it's really a hand in glove collaboration," Robert Boyle said, with the Furniture Bank of Southeastern Michigan.
Thursday night a benefit for the Community Housing Network and Furniture Bank to get together and help raise money for the cause. Participate in a drive-in movie night at Freedom Hill at 7:30 p.m. this Thursday.
"COVID, I really believe is a time where we have to do the same things but we have to do them in different ways. So now we're going outdoors and we're doing so with another nonprofit so together we can hopefully do more to help families that one, are at risk of homelessness and two, once they do find a place, they don't have any furniture to put inside so Community Housing Network, they have a one-stop-shop housing for so many folks. And that's why people call when they fear that they're falling behind and they're at risk of eviction," Boyle said.
And while the moratorium is there, there's always that worry that it will go away and people need to live. The housing network usually would get 3,000 calls months but at its height, they are getting 1,000 calls a day.
"We have an eviction moratorium in place until the end of the year which is a wonderful thing however what happens at the end of the year when as many as 40% of renters are vulnerable to any eviction. At that point, we need to be able to help those folks and get into stable housing and keep them out of shelters where they're going to be crowded with other people and hopefully get them into a place that they're going to feel good about with beds and furniture.