Carmarthenshire based social enterprise CETMA, is helping the community to beat furniture poverty thanks to National Lottery players.
Their new project is called the COST OF LIVING HOUSEHOLD SUPPORT PROJECT, it’s main aim is to raise awareness of Furniture Poverty and provide household support to those in need.
Orianna Evans, Project Manager has said:
“Furniture Poverty is when someone is unable to access, or afford to buy or maintain, any household furniture or appliance item that is essential to achieve a socially acceptable standard of living.
For those who are unaware furniture poverty is on a sliding scale and is made up of:
- Furniture Insecurity: This is a household which has the items they need for now but if something essential breaks or needs replacing, they will not have the means to do so and are often moving from one crisis to another.
- Furniture Deprivation: A household which has none or very few of the items they need and are often in a long-term chronic situation.
Examples of furniture poverty:
- Not having a bed to sleep on means a poor night’s sleep, affecting your ability to live, work and study.
- Not having a cooker to prepare food or a fridge to safely store it in can lead to an unhealthy and often expensive diet.
- Needing to use a launderette can add up to £1000 to the annual cost of washing your clothes.
- Not having a sofa to sit on means you can be unwilling to invite friends or support workers into your home.
“We know from first-hand experience that people are suffering from furniture poverty. We want to make this project an easily accessible service which people are able to approach with confidence that we will be able to support them the best we can.”
You can contact the project via:
Email – oevans@cetma.org.uk
Phone Number – 01554 556996
Website –www.cetma.org.uk
