Furniture Poverty Helen Campbell End Furniture Poverty Building

Furniture Poverty Helen Campbell, End Furniture Poverty Building Financially Healthy Communities, Durham, Tuesday 15 th November

Introduction • What is Furniture Poverty? • Our campaign • Research: • Essential Furniture • Extent of Furniture Poverty • Demographic groups at risk • How can you get involved?

What is Furniture Poverty?

What is Furniture Poverty? …the inability to afford or access basic furniture and furnishings, including domestic appliances, that provide a household with a decent quality of life and the ability to participate in the norms of society. …when someone does not have the furniture they need to lead a secure life.

What is Furniture Poverty? • Not just about physical needs: To feel depressed, cheated, bitter, desperate, vulnerable, frightened, angry, worried about debts or job and housing insecurity; to feel devalued, useless, helpless, uncared for, hopeless, isolated, anxious and a failure: these feelings can dominate people’s whole experience of life. . . The material environment is merely the indelible mark and constant reminder of the oppressive fact of one’s failure, of the atrophy of any sense of having a place in a community, and of one’s social exclusion and devaluation as a human being Wilkinson, R. G. (1996). Unhealthy societies: the afflictions of inequality. Routledge, London, p. 215 • Poverty, deprivation and social exclusion are all linked and characterise experience of Furniture Poverty

What is Furniture Poverty? Food Fuel Furniture

Furniture Poverty is a continuum Furniture insecurity: a household has the items they need for now, but if something essential breaks or needs replacement, they will not have the savings to do this and may be in Furniture Poverty or Furniture destitution as a result Furniture poverty: a household doesn’t have all of the essential items they need or are using expensive credit to afford them and are potentially going without other essentials such as food and heating to pay for furniture Furniture destitution: where a household has none or very few of the basic items needed

What is End Furniture Poverty about?

What is End Furniture Poverty about? • Researching this hidden and unknown type of poverty • Raising awareness of Furniture Poverty – we are aiming for the same level of knowledge and action around fuel poverty • Celebrating good practice and encouraging take up • Promoting a range of solutions • Building a coalition of voices to champion this issue through End Furniture Poverty Supporters

What solutions might exist for Furniture Poverty? • Furnished Tenancies • Furnished shared accommodation for under 35 s • Making best use of reuse or ‘pre-loved’ furniture • Affordable borrowing • Providing a resource for people to find sources of grants, donations or gifts in kind

Further Research: Essential Furniture List

Essential Furniture: What would being in Furniture Poverty look like? • Not having an essential or basic item of furniture, white goods or furnishings • Our list is based on research by the Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK project, led by University of Bristol • Four surveys of the public asking them to say whether a particular item was necessary: “an item that everyone should be able to afford and no one should have to do without” • If over 50% said something was necessary, the item is classed as a necessity

Essential Furniture Over the course of the four surveys, the items asked about and identified as necessary are: Item 1983 1990 1999 2012 70 78 67 68 Washing machine 67 73 76 82 Curtains or blinds 71 Table and chairs 64 Television 51 58 56 51 Beds and bedding for everyone 94 95 95 Refrigerator 77 92 89 Carpets in living rooms and bedrooms Freezer / fridge freezer Obvious omissions here are: - Cooker - Easy chair / sofa -Wardrobe / chest of drawers

Trends in Attitudes to Necessities % of people who think item is necessary 100 90 Carpets in living rooms and bedrooms 80 Freezer / fridge freezer 70 Washing machine 60 50 Curtains or blinds 40 Table and chairs 30 Television 20 Beds and bedding for everyone 10 0 1978 1988 1998 Year of survey 2008 2018 Refrigerator

Essential Furniture Electrical and white goods • Bed, bedding and mattress (95%) • Washing machine (82%) • Table and chairs (64%) • Cooker/oven (91%) • Refrigerator and freezer (89%) • Sofa and/or easy chairs (64%) • TV (51%) • Wardrobe/drawers (69%) Indoor furnishings • Carpets in living rooms and bedrooms (67%) • Curtains or blinds (67%)

Basic items – TV or not TV? % of different groups who think TV is a necessity Limiting illness No limiting illness Bottom 20% income Top 20% income Manual / routine work Non-manual work No qualification Degree or higher 0 10 20 30 40 50 % 60 70 80 90 100

Essential Furniture Consultation • Consultation to ask key stakeholders about this list for feedback: • Housing organisations • Civil society organisations • Those with direct experience of those in Furniture Poverty • Consultation period 16 th November – 16 th December • Final list to be released in January 2017

Further research: Extent of Furniture Poverty and Groups at Risk

Extent of Furniture Poverty No current data exists about the scale of Furniture Poverty, but some relevant research exists around poverty and financial instability – impoverishment of the UK’ research, produced by the Poverty and Social Exclusion project in 2013: • 28% of households cannot afford at least one of the PSE essential items • 26% of adults can’t afford to replace or repair broken goods

Extent of Furniture Poverty • Human City Institute surveys (On the Margins report, 2011) • Over 1, 500 social tenants in urban and rural communities, between 2010 and 2014 • Shows that furniture is one of the most important ‘extras’ social landlords can provide to reduce risk of debt with legal sharks, rent arrears and abandonments

Groups at risk of Furniture Poverty Furniture destitution – those who have experienced trigger events meaning they will suddenly be left without furniture: • • • Refugees Ex-offenders Veterans or ex-soldiers Resettled homeless people People fleeing domestic violence Care leavers in their first home

Groups at risk of Furniture Poverty and furniture insecurity – these are more likely to exist in households who are ‘just managing’ – possibly in work or on benefits, but who are on the precipice ‘Just managing’ groups are more likely to be: • Working age • Single mothers • Foreign born • Those with a disability • People in low-pay sectors • Those receiving benefits

How can you get involved?

How can we help Social Housing Providers and other organisations? • Existing furnished tenancy schemes – provision of pro bono support to review schemes and improve practice • Furnished tenancy pilots – support to set up a pilot scheme for specific tenants • Support with piloting furnished shared accommodation for under-35 s

What can you do? • Sign up as an End Furniture Poverty Supporter • Talk to us about the great work you’re doing • Follow us on Twitter and Linked. In • Sign up at www. endfurniturepoverty. org to get monthly newsletter, briefing papers and event information • Ask us for help with any anti-Furniture Poverty work you’re doing

Any questions? Twitter: @endfurniturepov Linked. In: End Furniture Poverty. Org Web: www. endfurniturepoverty. org Email: helenc@endfurniturepoverty. org Telephone: 0151 702 0575