Metro Atlanta nonprofit helping furnish apartments for families in need
DECATUR, Ga. - A metro Atlanta nonprofit is turning houses into homes for families who are coming out of homelessness.
Furnish With Love is based in Decatur and their mission is helping families get a fresh start.
The headquarters of Furnish With Love looks like an interior designer's dream. There are rows and rows of high-end furniture, decor, fabrics. But everything inside is for families in need.
"With volunteer professional interior designers, we design and fully furnish homes for families who have done a lot of hard work to get themselves out of really tough situations," Furnish With Love founder Kathleen Kelly said.
She wanted to give families coming out of homelessness a space they love.
"It's kind of a tough way to start out when you still don't feel like you have a home. You have a building to be in, and maybe it feels a little bit like a safe space that is yours now, but it doesn't feel like your stamp is on it, it doesn't represent you," she told Good Day Atlanta's Lindsay Tuman.
Interior designers volunteer to make each family's dream home a reality.
"We get to treat them like design clients. And we do. We meet them. We get to know them. We talk to them about their personal styles. What are some colors they like. What are some things they hate," board member and interior designer Beth Krakow said.
The furniture is donated. While some of it comes ready to go, other pieces might need a little bit of help. Volunteers also help paint, restore, and refurbish any items that need a little TLC.
"We want it to be warm, we want it to be comfortable. We want it to be a safe space," Krakow said.
Agencies who work with families struggling with homelessness refer families to Furnish With Love once they have secured a place to stay.
"It's amazing, the eyes light up for the children, the moms. I've seen children jumping on beds, I've seen moms cry. So it feels good to see them feel good about a situation that has turned into gold for them," Mellissa Craig said. Craig is the Vice Chair of the Board.
Some families have even returned to volunteer themselves.
The long-term goal is to create a change for the parents and for their children.
"The parents can feel proud of the space, the children can feel like this a standard of living I'm expecting in life and I'm going to work towards." Kelly said.
Transforming spaces into homes and transforming these families at the same time.
The nonprofit is always looking for volunteers. They also host furniture sales for some donated pieces to raise money. If you want to learn how you can get involved you can go Furnish with Love's website.