Nearly all public housing funds pay for walls, not what goes inside. But research shows that furnishings are essential—boosting housing retention, reducing stress, and improving mental health. This page breaks down the numbers and shares two white papers that make the case.
Impact Area Insight
Funding Gap Less than 1% of housing dollars cover furnishings
Cost to Furnish Just $1,000 can fully furnish a home via a furniture bank
Housing Recidivism Furniture reduces returns to homelessness by up to 50%
Mental Health Boost 91% of families felt more stable, 80% felt healthier
after receiving furniture
Family Cohesion 73% of parents said relationships with their children improved
Economic Efficiency Furnishing a unit costs 0.5% of what it takes to build one
Cost Model: $1K = 1 Home Furnished
What policymakers need to know about leveraging furniture banks for high-impact, low-cost support.
Furnishings, Mental Health, and Homelessness Recurrence
Explores how empty housing contributes to returns to homelessness—and how furniture restores stability.
When homes are furnished, people stay housed. Dignity, stability, and family life begin with a place to sit, eat, and sleep.
For less than a month’s rent, a furniture bank can transform an empty apartment into a livable home. Here's what a typical $1,000 investment provides through the furniture bank model:
Essentials Provided:
What It Enables:
They were able to come home from school and see that they had a place to sleep… They had a bed. That was good.”
— Furniture bank client
(Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta)
This isn’t charity. It’s dignity delivered—and infrastructure that works.
When homes are furnished, people stay housed. Dignity, stability, and family life begin with a place to sit, eat, and sleep.
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