Most clients who arrive at Home Sweet Home’s warehouse, in Brentwood’s Hanley Industrial Court, come in need of everything from children’s beds to sofas and tables.
They are referred by 15 agencies from across the St. Louis area, which serve people who are dealing with domestic violence or addiction or struggling with homelessness, mental illness, and other challenges. What they all share is a need for help starting over.
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Home Sweet Home’s goal is to help clients create environments that feel comfortable and safe. The nonprofit furniture bank—one of about 60 across the country—collects household items from donors and invites clients to shop for kitchen tables, couches, dishes, and other necessities for the home.
“We take a lot of care in trying to make sure [the items are] something we would want,” says executive director Betsy Reznicek, who launched the organization in 2015 in St. Louis. “Just because people are in need doesn’t mean they don’t deserve nice things.”
Appointments are made in 40-minute increments throughout the week; a volunteer or staffer assigned to each client helps them select items for the home. Later that same day, the chosen furnishings are packed up for delivery—all at no cost.
Since its start three years ago, Home Sweet Home has served more than 850 clients. It employs a small staff and relies on volunteers to unpack donations, wash dishes, and help clients choose furnishings that will look good together in a home.
Lee Anne Quatrano volunteers every Thursday. “I see [clients] at 9:30 in the morning, and they know that at 3 o’clock, before their kids come home from school, the house will be full of furniture,” she says. The best part of the day is seeing “the kids light up and bounce on the beds and start to put away the things they know are going to be theirs.”
In September, Home Sweet Home moved locations and tripled its storage space. For the first time, dedicated office space is available for staff members.
A 35-year-old military veteran who asked to be identified only as Kenna was the first client to shop in the new space. “Before Home Sweet Home, all I had was a bed. I didn’t have a kitchen table or a couch or dishes. I couldn’t cook food, because I didn’t have [anything] to cook it in,” says Kenna, who was referred to Home Sweet Home by the Department of Veterans Affairs. “Friday night [after the delivery], my friend and I made spaghetti…It was a real treat!”
Pots and pans may not seem like a luxury to most people—but for some St. Louisans, choosing household items that are practical and pretty smooths the path to self-sufficiency.
“It’s wonderful to help people achieve a functioning household because you know it’s going to help the kids do better in school; it’s going to help the parents perform better at work,” says Lisa Long, client services coordinator. “It goes a long way to affect health and outcomes.”
