Blog post by Stuart Beumer.
Stuart is a member of the Poverty Task Force and co-chairs the Income Security Action Group

When my Great Aunt passed away when I was in university I ended up with her bed. I was on a pretty tight budget at the time, about to graduate with student loan debt and no immediate full-time  job prospects. I was still doing OK financially but I was definitely trying to live cheap. I had a mish-mash of cast off furniture and when my mom asked me if I wanted my Great Aunt’s relatively new mattress and bed I snapped it up; this was a definite upgrade from what I had. That mattress has hung around for about 15 years now, I had it for quite a while and then it went to my younger sister who was moving out and needed it more than me.

Now that I think about, I’ve been pretty lucky when it comes to hand-me-down furniture and household items from my family. If I close my eyes and do a virtual walk around my home, I can identify the tables, desks, kitchen items, beds, dressers and chairs that have come through family members. Of course we have purchased many things ourselves; a fairly expensive sectional couch in our family room is a more recent example.

We are very lucky to have a family that has been able to help us out over the years as we furnished our first apartment and then our house. Michelle isn’t so lucky.

Michelle’s story is told in the Poverty Task Force report of Furniture Needs in Guelph & Wellington. Michelle lives on social assistance and found herself left scrambling to piece together furniture as she moved to a new place after leaving an abusive relationship. Michelle was able to get her hands on a voucher from a local service provider but they didn’t have what she needed, it had a 30 day expiry and there was no delivery option. Michelle also found the home visit process to determine her eligibility intrusive and a bit humiliating. In the end this support didn’t work for Michelle and she continued to deal with the situation on her own accessing thrift shops and social networking sites.

In 2012 the Ontario government unexpectedly cut the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB) from social assistance. Low income individuals and families on Ontario Works and ODSP were able to access support through this benefit to purchase furniture and household goods. The cut to this benefit further exposed the difficulties that low income families in our community have when it comes to finding furniture, household items and appliances. This cut had a big impact on Michelle’s situation.

The Poverty Task Force Report helps us understand the impact of the cuts to CSUMB and the current landscape when it comes to low or no cost furniture options in the community. The Report makes a number of recommendations related to how we can do better in this area. Some of the recommendations call upon government to provide more support while  others call upon service providers to work together in a more integrated and effective way. All of the recommendations are designed to encourage a system of supports that ensure dignity and respect for anyone that is receiving help. I encourage you to read the report and gain a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities in this area.

There is no one magic solution to the issues raised in the report. We need involvement from a broad range of sources and we need to be creative. As a community we need to take responsibility for helping our neighbours access the items they need to turn their house into a home; a bed, basic appliances, furniture and clothing.  The Poverty Task Force has committed to providing some leadership on this issue and we encourage others to get involved in building on the strengths and addressing the challenges in the current system.