Harvard to Help Homeless

A Cambridge organization working to provide furniture for former homeless people is stepping up efforts to attract donors and Volunteers from the Harvard community this year.

The Cambridge Furniture Bank, run by Macy DeLong, a former research associate in the Harvard biology department, has worked with the University's Dorm Crew office since 1989. Previously, dorm crew workers threw out any furniture left in student rooms at the end of the year.

Quincy, Adams, and Lowell Houses are among the residential facilities participating in the program, but DeLong said she is hoping for even more.

"This year, we're trying to really spread the word," she said.

DeLong said she need help collecting furniture from various houses during the week after students vacate their dorms, and is hoping that seniors will volunteer during the week before Commencement.

The Furniture Bank provides furniture for homeless people and helps them move into their new-found homes. DeLong said that anyone associated DeLong said that anyone associated with Cambridge--whether moving into or out of the city--is eligible for the bank's services.

In addition, she said, the bank works with Cambridge Cares About AIDS and AIDS Action.

Until recently, the state government provided $150 moving vouchers to those receiving General Relief or Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). But Governor William F. Weld '66 eliminated this service in 1990 and 1991, calling it an "extraneous expenditure," according to DeLong.

Collective Experience

The Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee first started the bank in 1987. In 1989, Anna Roberts reorganized it with the help of a $10,000 grant from the city of Cambridge.

People who are or were homeless operate the program. DeLong said. "They provide a community support system... We have a collective experience," she said.

DeLong, who had taken a leave of absence from her Harvard job due to depression, was homeless when she began working for the bank as a truck driver.

The Furniture Bank relies on donations from a variety of sources. The city of Cambridge has given the bank the use of an office in the Cambridge Multi-Service Center, a building which also contains offices for several other homeless programs.

Among the program's other supporters are the Cambridge Housing Authority, which donates warehouses for furniture storage, and Cambridge Nissan, which donated a truck used for moving furniture St. Paul's AME Church provides a gift of $250 per week.

Still, DeLong said, the program has barely enough money to meet expenses like the $400 to $600 per week that the two paid drivers earn. Between five and ten persons also volunteer their time.

Skepticism

Receiving grants has been difficult, she says, because agencies were skeptical of the bank's ability to survive. Now, the program operates six days a week and is so busy, DeLong said, that she has no time to write funding proposals.

"Our goal is to become self-supporting," DeLong said. In order to do this, the bank has begun a small moving company. DeLong said she hopes company will make money by providing services to the general public.

The company will be non-profit, with all proceeds supporting the bank. "We can charge less [than commercial movers], provide excellent services, and use the money for the program," she said.

The furniture for the program comes from various sources, among them individuals, hotels, and universities. Boston University recently donated 250 dressers, DeLong said.