The Home in a Box project provides individuals and families who have experienced chronic homelessness and moved into a permanent home with brand new home wares. The project was developed to help people who have experienced long term homelessness settle into their new home, lay down roots and restart their lives. We spoke to Karen Hunter, the Homelessness Services Coordinator with Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, about the Home in a Box project.
If you would like to support the Home in a Box project, please call our team on 02 9911 7390, email us at office@mercyfoundation.com.au or donate here.
I can’t tell you how much we appreciate being able to access the service offered by the Mercy Foundation. Home in a Box is a massive help for the people I work with. When an offer of housing comes through it is such a massive relief and extremely exciting. However, that can quickly turn to anxiety because the majority of my clients are deeply entrenched in homelessness. Individuals who have been rough sleeping for long periods of time find themselves with absolutely no household belongings.
Getting a house is a great thing but making it a home is something completely different and it gives them a sense of ownership. Most of my clients are on a Centrelink benefit and cannot afford to purchase all the essential items required to start up a new tenancy.
Home In a Box provides quality home wares that instantly provide a sense of home, making it a place where they want to spend time.
The look of delight when people open up their Home in a Box is priceless. They make a world of difference.
Since July 2019, we have delivered 45 boxes to individuals and families in Sydney and Canberra, to help them settle in to their new homes.
Thank you to our sponsors and donors to the Home in a Box program, especially:
