Several Omaha organizations cleared unused and old furniture and donated to refuges

OMAHA, Nebraska – Several organizations in the area are assisting folks who have so little to make their homes seem more like a home by sorting through unused furniture.

It is the purpose of the churches and non-profit organizations working together in Omaha on The Furniture Project. The goal of the project is to facilitate the integration of refugees into the local community.

Melanie Gahan spends the early morning hours of Saturday doing some shopping, but not for herself but rather for people she has never met before.

Melanie is a member of Citylight Church and is in the market for entirely furnishing a home.

Melanie asked, “How many people are in the family, and how old are they? Then come here to regain your dignity and kind of shop.” “That is to choose out the furniture that would suit the family and that would satisfy the needs that the size of the family would require,” she said. “That would be to pick out the furniture that would suit the family.”

On Saturday, she will be assisting an Afghan family of nine in setting up their household chores.

She explained that once they move in, “they’ll be able to go into their house and it will be ready to live in.”

Donations of furniture came pouring in when it was raining in the morning.

Doug Hastings needed to get rid of a substantial amount of high-quality furniture, so he brought it to The Furniture Project, which is located at 108th and J Street.

“It’s heavy oak furniture and we bought it when our kids were little, and they used it and now they’re all grown up and out of the house and so we wanted it to go to a good home,” Hastings said. “We bought it when they were little and they used it and now they’re all grown up and out of the house and so we wanted it to go to a good home.”

The action that took place on Saturday centered on various churches getting together to assist refugees arriving in Omaha; nevertheless, this is not an opportunity that can just be taken advantage of here.

James Barton is now serving as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ president in the state of Utah.

He stated that everybody may contribute in some insignificant way.

According to what Barton had to say, “We’re trying to set them up so that they can have their basic needs addressed, but not only that, we’re also trying to help them become involved in the community and become a part of our community.”

A truck was rapidly loaded with furnishings and various needs for the home with only a small amount of physical effort.

This muscle was also put to work establishing a new home for a refugee family in North Omaha, at the intersection of 45th and Grant.

As part of their outreach program, more than a dozen college students from Creighton, the University of Nebraska in Omaha, and Iowa Western completed the honorable work of moving the furniture into the house.

Christian Todd, a student at Creighton University, explained that the school hosts regular gatherings of a relatively small number of people known as “City Groups.” “We discussed a little bit about volunteering in the community this year, and I decided to reach out to the serving director at Citylight. She put me in touch with the people who work here, and together we simply pulled this whole thing together.”

Since the beginning of the year, this is the twenty-first refugee family that has been assisted as a result of this program.

However, there is a great deal more to it.

According to Hannah Vlach-Wyble, founder of Restoring Dignity, not only will it go to families of refugees, but it will also go to victims of violent crime, individuals coming out of homelessness, and those whose homes have burned down and who have nothing left.

They maintain that it is not a giveaway, but rather a hand-up for individuals who are struggling financially.

Donations are gratefully accepted free of charge; however, in order to be considered, they must be in satisfactory shape or operational order. Absolutely no dirty mattresses or pillows, and nothing that’s broken or doesn’t work.

Anyone can make a donation; all they need to do is schedule an appointment on The Furniture Project’s website.