Oregon Rep. Salinas introduces bill to allow federal money for furniture banks

U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas, left, tours a Community Warehouse in Tualatin in August. Salinas introduced a bill last week to allow federal funding for furniture banks like Community Warehouse. (U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas’ office)

Reasoning that a house without a bed, chair or table isn’t a home, a U.S. representative from Oregon introduced a bill to allow federal funding for the nonprofit organizations that provide free furniture to people moving out of homelessness. 

U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Oregon, introduced House Resolution 10163, the Housing to Homes Act, last week to allow the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to distribute funding to furniture banks, which provide new or gently used free furniture to people in need. Salinas told the Capital Chronicle she doesn’t expect to pass the bill in the current congressional term, but she plans to reintroduce it in the next Congress. 

Oregon’s largest furniture bank, Community Warehouse, has served the Portland area for more than 20 years. It accepts gently used furniture, kitchen supplies, bedding and home decor, and people referred by social service agencies are able to “shop” the warehouse, picking out everything from bed frames to can openers needed to make an empty house or apartment into a home. 

Salinas met with leaders from the organization, and after learning more about the model, she said it was a “no-brainer” to find ways the federal government could help. 

“I always say I have never lived in or slept in a bedroom without a bed or a mattress,” Salinas said. “And so to have to do that, that doesn’t really feel like home.”

The Furniture Bank Network, a directory of furniture banks across the U.S. and Canada, lists 114 sites in the U.S. including two in Oregon — Community Warehouse and the Benton Furniture Share. Other Oregon furniture banks aren’t listed in the directory, including Furnish Hope in Bend, the Salem Alliance Church’s furniture bank that serves families in Salem and Keizer and the Share Inc. furniture bank in Yamhill County. 

There’s a higher need than any of the furniture banks can fill. During a presentation to the Oregon Legislature earlier this year, furniture bank leaders estimated that about 300,000 Oregonians — about 7% of the state’s population — live without most or all of the furniture they need. 

Community Warehouse furnishes about 220 homes per month, lawmakers heard, but the demand is closer to 400 families each month. The Salem Alliance Church’s furniture bank furnishes about 28 homes monthly, leaving 70 or more families waiting in an average month. 

The Oregon Legislature this spring allocated $1 million to Community Warehouse as part of a $376 million housing-related spending package. Salinas’ bill wouldn’t directly send money to any furniture banks but would allow federal HUD grants to be used for delivering and assembling furniture. 

Community Warehouse supports Salinas’ proposal. Executive Director Anna Kurnizki said in a statement that the bill’s introduction is a crucial step to recognizing the vital role furniture banks play for people transitioning out of homelessness. 

“Furnishing a home is not a luxury — it’s a necessity,” Kurnizki said. “A bed to sleep on, a table to share meals and a chair to sit on are essential components of a stable, healthy, and hopeful environment. Without these essentials, a housing unit can feel empty and temporary, and the risk of returning to homelessness remains all too real.” 

Salinas said she saw that effect firsthand when meeting with a man who moved into transitional housing after sleeping in a Salem park. 

“He was so proud of his little dining table that they had sent him, that he needed an Allen wrench for, and he put it together,” she said. “So I know the impact and the pride that he had in having furniture in his home.”  

Salinas said she wanted to bring more attention to furniture banks in part because she didn’t know about them until recently. She moved a couple years ago into the 6th Congressional District from her former home in the 5th District — unlike state legislators, members of Congress don’t have to live in their districts but Salinas promised to move into the 6th District if elected. 

“When we moved, we gave away furniture to Goodwill,” she said. “I didn’t know that (there was a furniture bank in Tigard), and I figured if I didn’t know that, I imagine other people probably don’t know that too.”