The Furniture Bank That Filled the Gaps 

It started with an uncomfortable truth. As Homeward Trust helped people move into housing, many were stepping into empty apartments, no bed, no table, no couch. Housing First could secure the keys, but without furniture, the spaces felt incomplete, and the stability housing promised had gaps. 

To close the gap, Homeward Trust created the furniture bank, known as FIND, transforming community donations into the building blocks of a real home. What began as a practical solution quickly became essential to helping people fill more than just empty rooms, it helped fill lives with comfort, dignity, and hope. 

FIND opened its first storefront in 2011 in a former grocery store in the Landsdowne neighbourhood, offering a dedicated space for furniture and clothing donations from community partners such as Bissell Centre. By 2018, the program had furnished 1,407 homes, helping more than 2,100 people move out of homelessness through Housing First.  

Today, FIND operates from a newly renovated 22,000-square-foot retail space, where every donated item is carefully inspected. Housing First participants are invited to choose from quality, gently used furniture and household essentials, giving them the freedom to create a space that truly feels like home.  

More than just furniture, this process fosters pride, ownership, and dignity. Choosing the sofa and arranging the table, these small acts help transform an empty apartment into a welcoming space filled with possibility. 

Because of FIND, the journey to home is no longer just a set of keys. It’s about a furnished, functional, and welcoming space where people can begin their next chapter with confidence, hope, and rooms full of possibility. 

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LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We recognize we are gathered, in collaboration and with joint purpose, on Treaty 6 territory. This territory is the traditional home and gathering place for diverse Indigenous Peoples. The nêhiyaw (Cree), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Dene, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), Anishinaabe (Saulteaux/Ojibwe), Nakota Isga (Nakota Sioux), Inuit, and Métis, among many others cared for this land since time immemorial and continue to steward it today. As visitors in this territory, we honour the importance of the Treaty and our responsibility to these communities. Only in partnership can we create the changes necessary to end homelessness. It is vital we meaningfully engage and partner with Indigenous People and communities in this work while recognizing and addressing the conditions brought forth by colonialism. Displacement from traditional homelands, systemic racism, residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and the ongoing overrepresentation of Indigenous People in child welfare, correctional systems, and homelessness are responsibilities we all share.