By JERRY GLEESON
A program that provides furniture for the needy in Westchester
County couldn’t be getting under way at a better time – in the aftermath of major flooding.
Furniture Sharehouse, as it’s called, has set up shop at the Westchester County Airport. It’s the product of two years of work by the Junior League of Westchester on the Sound.
Bob Miller, president of Westhab and a member of the Sharehouse’s advisory board, said a frustration among social service groups is the inability to match donations of furniture from an affluent public with people in need. Without a sizable warehouse for storage, the opportunity to give away many good quality tables, chairs, dressers and sofas was lost.
“The need is there and the supply is there. The problem is getting from one to the other,” Miller said. Westhab itself had a warehouse operation about 10 years ago to provide furniture for its homeless clients who were setting up their own households, but it was closed after a year or two for lack of funds.
About 70 furniture banks operate in the United States, according to the National Furniture Bank Association (www.help1up.org). No single furniture bank can meet the needs of the area it serves, the group said, and some major urban areas such as Los Angeles and Washington have none.
Kate Bialo, a Junior League member and director of the Furniture Sharehouse, said the League helped set up a charitable corporation for the Sharehouse and contributed $30,000 for its budget. She also credited Westchester County government with helping the project get started.
The Planning Department provided a $20,000 grant, and the county is leasing the airport space to the Sharehouse at $10 a square foot, below the $15-18 rate elsewhere in the market.
The warehouse is now filled with 200-300 pieces of furniture, and Bialo expects it will be busy in the weeks to come as people seek help in the wake of recent floods. The Sharehouse accepts referrals only through local social service agencies.
While the Sharehouse will pick up good quality furniture from donors, it does not deliver the furniture to its new homes. Bialo said there is a need for volunteers with trucks who can do so.
