Anita Dance, a 40-year-old mother of two living in Buckinghamshire, never thought she would want a sodden foam mattress abandoned in the street. That is, until she did.
“I looked at that mattress and I wished it was dry, I wished there was sunshine,” she said, “so I could just take it and sleep on it.”
Dance, after a spell in temporary housing, had been moved by the council into an empty shell of a property with her children — no furniture, no white goods, not even carpets or curtains.
She had sourced some basic furniture and beds from High Wycombe Central Aid, a local charity that helps poor families access recycled furniture at low cost, for her teenage twins to use. But Dance was left without a mattress, bed frame or sofa. “I had to sacrifice, to sleep on the floor,” she said, folding down her duvet to create a cushion against the cold surface below.
“I couldn’t find the money,” she said. “I couldn’t afford a bed, a mattress, I had to buy kitchen stuff, we didn’t have a washing machine — we didn’t have anything. The basic things we didn’t have.”
Dance is one of an estimated 4.8 million people — 2 million households — in the UK unable to afford basic pieces of furniture or home appliances, according to anti-poverty charity Turn2us.
The campaign group End Furniture Poverty estimates just 2% of social housing is let as furnished, compared with 29% at least partly-furnished in the private rental sector. Campaigners say furniture poverty generates a lingering impact on family life, socialising, wellbeing and mental health.
Furniture poverty — like fuel or food poverty — is not a unique type of poverty, but is a consequence of not having enough money. Up to 14.5 million people were in relative poverty before the pandemic when taking housing costs into account, according to the House of Commons Library, and the Bank of England estimates the unemployment rate will be around 4.75% at the end of 2021, pushing more families into hardship.
To stop more people like Dance being thrown into poverty, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to cancel September’s planned £1,040-a-year cut to universal credit, which also coincides with the highest ever hike to the energy price cap.
Moving from temporary council housing to permanent private accommodation, which she said was around the start of 2018, was supposed to be the beginning of a new life for Dance and her twins. But when they arrived, at the ex-council property now part of a non-profit housing association, the place was hollow, the walls and rooms as bare as the cupboards. “The only thing I found was the light in the house,” Dance said. “The electricity was on, and the water — the rest is up to you.”
Responding to a comment request on Dance’s case, Nick Naylor, Buckinghamshire Council’s cabinet member for housing, homelessness and regulatory services, said: “While we can’t comment on this specific case, Buckinghamshire Council’s temporary accommodation is typically furnished. In the rare cases where accommodation is unfurnished, our officers work with partners and link our clients with third-party charitable organisations who are able to help.”
Naylor did not address the empty permanent accommodation. But he added: “In addition, our Emergency Support Fund and our Helping Hands Initiative are both available to provide further assistance to clients if needed.” The non-profit housing association which permanently housed Dance was separately contacted for comment.
Dance said the first night was hard. They all slept in the living room together.
“It was my worst nightmare,” she said. “Three of us had to coil together to get warm.” If she wasn’t a strong person, Dance feels she may have given up.
Dance said there was no fridge, no utensils, no furniture. Dance remembered begging for curtains at least.
“Leave the curtains so that nobody can see that we are living in an empty house,” she recalled saying. But, Dance said, she was told there was nothing to be done.
Stuart Allen, general manager at Central Aid, helped kit out the home with basic furniture. Internal records show a second-hand dishwasher and a bed for the children, among other things, delivered to Dance’s house in 2018.
During this period, in which she received multiple food parcels from a local church, Dance recalls struggling to keep up appearances.
“When you go out, you put a smile on your face,” she said.
But it took roughly a year before Dance received another furniture delivery. It was when Dance needed a new second-hand bed, after her adolescent son was outgrowing his old one, that Allen realised Dance had been sleeping on the floor for over a year.
In the end, it was the twins who alerted Allen at Central Aid. “The children went to Stuart and they said, ‘Look, our mother is sleeping on the floor,’” Dance said.
“I remember this distinctly,” said Allen, who visited Dance’s house when delivering the furniture, and noticed the absence of a bed. “She was trying to sort them out, and I thought, you’ve got nothing.”
Allen didn’t have a bed to offer her, but delivered a mattress. Allen said it took until April this year, when Central Aid records show another van delivery, for Dance to get a second-hand bed frame. “Stuart really helped,” she said.
In an effort to clamp down on furniture poverty, Central Aid recently partnered with Ryobi UK, a power tool company, and Adebayo Akinfenwa, the Wycombe Wanderers footballer, to launch the Re-Build campaign. Ryobi will provide tools and expertise for dozens of charities in the Reuse Network to fix up old furniture.
The campaign is an effort to urge people not to throw out old appliances — and to deploy recycled housewares to plug the gaps of missing furniture in the homes of poor families.
“This campaign means a lot to us at Ryobi – we’ll keep doing what we can to help raise awareness and tackle furniture poverty in the UK. It really is the poverty issue you’ve never heard of, and we are committed to helping to address that,” said Thomas Leather, head of marketing at Ryobi UK.
He added: “But, for everyone who has been helped by the Re-Build campaign, and more broadly the great work that furniture aid charities do, there are so many more still to help. We need a concerted effort from brands, government and the public in general to work with furniture charities to really achieve that.”
Claire Donovan, head of policy, research and campaigns at pressure group End Furniture Poverty, said: “Furniture reuse is one part of the solution, but we also need more furnished tenancies in social housing, adequately funded local welfare assistance schemes from local authorities and more government funding for these schemes and End Furniture Poverty campaigns on all of these issues.”
She urged anyone struggling with furniture poverty to visit her organisation’s website to find way’s to get support.
As many as 1.9 million people in the UK are living without a cooker, according to research from Turn2us, and 900,000 people are living without a washing machine.
Steve Baker, Dance’s local MP and one of an estimated 60 Tory MPs who oppose Johnson’s imminent universal credit cut, welcomed the campaign and thanked those involved.
“Wycombe Central Aid is a great local charity, and I am pleased to see it has teamed up with Ryobi and Adebayo Akinfenwa to help people moving into accommodation have some essential home comforts,” said Baker.
“I know this is not just a problem in Wycombe but is something experienced by people across the country. There are a lot of good people who care about others, and they can help by donating unwanted household items for the Re-Build campaign.”
Akinfenwa, joining campaigning footballers such as Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling, said he hoped the campaign would mean children growing up with life’s essentials.
“I’ve thrown away things that could have been reused so being part of this campaign is overwhelming, especially to see the smile it puts on a child’s face when they have the furniture delivered,” he said.
Dance’s twins have just sat their GCSEs, and are planning to go on and study IT and double-science at A Level. Even during the darkest moments, spending nights on the cold floor, Dance remembers thinking, “These are my babies. I have to show them that we can do it from scratch.” Her determination to set a good example got her through. She hopes to pass on that strength to her twins.
“I had to show the children that, you know what, we will go through this,” Dance said. “I told them, ‘Even gold has to pass through fire to become a beautiful gold ring’.”
Now, Dance has landed a cleaning job. It’s not much, but it helps bring home a modest income. She called on people to back the campaign and think twice about throwing away houseware that could be recycled. And today, with the help of Central Aid’s low-cost second-hand furniture, Dance’s house is looking more like a home.
It might not be a dream house, she said, but to finally have a permanent, furnished home to call their own, “it is perfect.”
Courtesy of INSP.ngo / The Big Issue UK bigissue.com @BigIssue
Like what you're reading? Street Roots is made possible by readers like you! Your support fuels our in-depth reporting, and each week brings you original news you won't find anywhere else. Thank you for your support!
tadalafil cialis https://cialisicp.com/
buy tadalis tadalafil cost in canada
cheap cialis pills for sale generic cialis online fast shipping
tadalafil side effects where to buy cialis without prescription
tadalafil side effects tadalafil side effects
tadalafil brands tadalafil liquid
cost tadalafil generic side effects for tadalafil
tadalafil side effects tadalafil blood pressure
https://cialisbusd.com/ lowest price cialis
what is tadalafil cheap generic cialis for sale
side effects for tadalafil where to order tadalafil tablets
canada generic tadalafil best price usa tadalafil
cialis without a prescription tadalafil without a doctor prescription
cost tadalafil generic https://cialisusdc.com/
tadalafil drug buy tadalis
tadalafil cialis https://cialisicp.com/
what is tadalafil tadalafil blood pressure
tadalafil blood pressure cialis tadalafil
cialis without prescription tadalafil dosage
side effects for tadalafil tadalafil drug
oral cialis – tadalafil 10mg us order cialis 20mg pill
generic hydroxychloroquine – purchase plaquenil generic order plaquenil 400mg
where to order tadalafil tablets cialis tadalafil
ivermectin 6mg online – ivermectin 6 mg without prescription buy ivermectin 3 mg
cephalexin 250mg us – buy clindamycin buy erythromycin 500mg for sale
tadalafil cost walmart https://cialisbusd.com/
what is tadalafil where to buy cialis without prescription
sildenafil tablet – antabuse 250mg us disulfiram 500mg drug
canada generic tadalafil generic cialis tadalafil
order budesonide online – buy cefuroxime pills cefuroxime 250mg for sale
buy careprost sale – buy bimatoprost pill trazodone uk
order viagra 50mg sale – buy ranitidine 300mg without prescription zantac 150mg over the counter
buy cialis 20mg pills – generic ivermectin ivermectin 12mg for people
cialis generic name – best drug for ed best natural ed pills
real money online casino – prednisone 5mg generic order prednisone generic
prednisone 20mg drug – purchase accutane order isotretinoin generic
tadalafil generic cheap generic cialis for sale
tadalafil cialis where to buy tadalafil on line
lowest price cialis https://cialisusdc.com/
amoxicillin brand – buy generic amoxicillin sildenafil next day delivery usa
where to buy tadalafil on line tadalafil cost walmart
cialis mail order us – purchase tadalafil sale cialis 20mg canada
stromectol medicine – stromectol order online order zithromax 500mg sale
order azithromycin 250mg sale – buy azithromycin for sale methylprednisolone 4 mg for sale
order baricitinib 4mg pill – purchase baricitinib online cheap dapoxetine 60mg cost
buy metformin 500mg generic – glucophage brand order atorvastatin 10mg generic
tadalafil daily online buy tadalis
buy amlodipine 5mg without prescription – order lisinopril 5mg for sale prilosec drug
buy lopressor 100mg sale – cialis 20mg pill buy generic tadalafil 5mg
where to buy generic cialis online safely where to buy cialis without prescription
cialis 10mg pills – sildenafil 100mg price viagra 150mg sale
ivermectin 6 mg tablets – ivermectin for human ivermectin 6mg
where to buy generic cialis online safely cialis cost
buy clomiphene 50mg generic – order cetirizine without prescription zyrtec price
tadalafil without a doctor prescription tadalafil cost in canada
lowest price cialis tadalafil brands
desloratadine 5mg ca – clarinex cost aristocort online order
buy tadalis cost of cialis
buy misoprostol – prednisolone 10mg oral buy levothyroxine pills
order viagra online cheap – buy gabapentin online gabapentin 100mg pill
order cialis 20mg pills – cenforce 100mg pill order cenforce 100mg pill
diltiazem 180mg canada – buy generic allopurinol 300mg zovirax order online
ivermectin pills human ivermectin buy nz
atarax 25mg generic – order rosuvastatin 10mg generic crestor pills
https://cialisvet.com/ generic tadalafil from uk
purchase ezetimibe generic – zetia 10mg sale celexa 20mg us
otc sildenafil how many sildenafil should i take
buy generic viagra online fast shipping buying viagra in mexico
tadalafil dosage cialis cost
ivermectin gel ivermectin 18mg
tadalafil finasteride combination cheap tadalafil 20mg
tadalafil generic price can a person buy tadalafil
side effects for tadalafil tadalafil side effects
ivermectin 3 mg tabs ivermectin pill cost
tadalafil liquid https://cialismat.com/
sildenafil canada – tadalafil tablet cialis 20mg uk
buy generic toradol – toradol pills ozobax without prescription
where to buy tadalafil on line https://cialistrxy.com/
ivermectin cost canada stromectol 12mg online
cheap colchicine 0.5mg – atomoxetine price strattera over the counter
stromectol tablets buy online stromectol buy uk
sildenafil us – order viagra 100mg online cheap order clopidogrel generic
order stromectol online ivermectin 0.5 lotion india
stromectol tab price buy stromectol uk
viagra 50mg cheap – viagra 100mg canada buy viagra 50mg
ivermectin 20 mg buy ivermectin stromectol
order esomeprazole 20mg online cheap – order nexium sale order phenergan
ivermectin 500mg order stromectol
oral ivermectin cost ivermectin 6mg tablet for lice
cialis 5mg sale – Cialis next day cialis 40mg sale
stromectol 6 mg dosage ivermectin ireland
ivermectin oral order stromectol online
ivermectin 3mg tab buy stromectol
provigil 200mg pill – modafinil cost best ed drug
buy lasix generic – buy doxycycline 200mg sildenafil 200mg for sale
stromectol ebay buy stromectol
brand cialis 40mg – purchase cozaar pill warfarin canada
buy topiramate 100mg – oral sumatriptan 50mg buy imitrex without prescription
tadalafil 5mg tab apomorphine and tadalafil
mylan tadalafil canada cialis from india mt tadalafil
viagra samples buy cheap viagra online
how to take levitra 20 mg stacking viagra and levitra
order furosemide online – zithromax drug buy generic zithromax 250mg
european online pharmacy prescription drugs what prescription drugs does humana cover?
doxycycline 200mg without prescription – buy generic plaquenil 200mg purchase chloroquine without prescription
canada drugs winnipeg Cordarone
cialis and depoxitine rgeneric cialis
canada pharmacy reviews winn-dixie pharmacy
viagra soft 100mg best canadian online pharmacy viagra
best online pharmacy without prescriptions rx discount pharmacy middlesboro ky
generic viagra from canada online where do you buy viagra
generic vs brand name cialis mastercard generic cialis
where can i buy ivermectin for dogs ivermectin treatment
is noromectin the same as ivermectin ivermectin injectable for dogs
tadalafil side effect what does tadalafil do
effects levitra side levitra dosage
canadian pharmacy spam pharmacy technician online class
viagra pharmacy over the counter cheap generic viagra canada
is it legal to buy levitra online order cheap online levitra
cialis available in walgreens over counter?? cialis price australia
cialis 5mg cost – sildenafil pills buy sildenafil 150mg online
best seller cialis ebay cialis
canada drugs review walmart online pharmacy
modafinil 100mg pill – real viagra pharmacy prescription buy viagra 150mg generic
canadian pharmacies shipping to usa Lotrisone
northern pharmacy canada canadian pharmacy no scripts
motion sickness b12 injections online pharmacy
canada ed drugs amazon online pharmacy
accutane canada – cheap generic amoxicillin celecoxib 100mg oral
tamsulosin 0.4mg canada – buy tamsulosin 0.2mg for sale brand spironolactone 100mg
zocor 20mg drug – simvastatin for sale writing a paper
online casino gambling – buy custom research paper academia writers
buy cipro 500mg without prescription – buy ciprofloxacin generic order tadalafil 10mg online
sildenafil in usa – vardenafil coupons what is vardenafil used for
purchasing drugs from canada fred’s dollar store pharmacy
prednisolone ca – brand gabapentin 800mg tadalafil 40mg usa
buy augmentin 625mg pills – cialis online canada buy cialis online safely
provigil brand modafinil canada
bactrim 960mg brand – buy bactrim 480mg generic sildenafil 25mg
order cephalexin 125mg online cheap – erythromycin 500mg sale purchase erythromycin online
online pharmacy programs canadian pharmacy viagra
sildenafil drug – sildenafil 50mg pill ivermectin 12 mg otc
rhinocort nasal spray – order generic disulfiram 500mg purchase disulfiram sale
erythromycin opthalmic erythromycin ophthalmic ointment usp
purchase provigil without prescription purchase modafinil online cheap
cefuroxime online – purchase cefuroxime order generic tadalafil
modafinil buy online buy modafinil 100mg online
drugs from canada to usa rite aid pharmacy store hours
order provigil 200mg generic modafinil price modafinil uk
buy provigil 200mg online
order ampicillin 500mg generic – order cialis 20mg generic cialis 5mg brand
buy modafinil 200mg order provigil generic
buy provigil for sale order provigil pills
amoxicillin 1000mg brand – buy zithromax 250mg pill levitra 10mg pill
http://erythromycinn.com/# erythromycin eye
ivermectin 6mg for people – stromectol ivermectin cost levitra 10mg