Although the recession has officially come to an end, the repercussions of the hard financial times are still taking their toll on many people across the UK.

Young families, graduates, school leavers, disabled people and pensioners are some of the many groups struggling to cope with increasingly high expenses in an age where jobs are hard to find, benefits are under threat and property prices are closing many people out of the market.

Young people, between the ages of 16 and 24 years old in particular, are struggling to make ends meet. According to recent figures from the Office of National Statistics, the national youth unemployment rate has risen over the last quarter, albeit marginally, to 20.4%, leaving more than one in five young people out of work.

The so-called ‘boomerang baby’ phenomenon, where individuals are forced to return to their parents’ home as adults, is becoming increasingly common. Although a welcome safety net for people in their teens, twenties and even thirties who are unable to afford their own property, the solution is far from perfect, with a reported 60% of parents charging their children rent as they struggle to cope with high inflation and living costs themselves.

In addition to the initial deposit on a rented or bought property, young people are struggling to afford the necessary furniture with which to feather their newly-purchased nests. Basic items such as three piece suites, double beds and dining room tables and chairs are – at several hundred pounds per purchase – simply beyond the reach of many people and are proving the tipping point in the decision to stay in the family home.

The Furniture Donation Network aims to tackle this issue by making excellent and very good quality furniture available to shoppers on a shoestring. The organisation, which brings together a network of furniture collection charities across the UK, encourages householders to donate their very good and excellent quality furniture via an easy-to-use online booking portal. The furniture is then collected by local charities and re-sold at a discounted price.

Because the Furniture Donation Network accepts only very good quality items that meet legal safety requirements, all of the furniture that our collection partners pick up can be re-sold and re-used immediately.

Although the Furniture Donation Network is a new venture, we’ve already helped shoppers in need of a serious bargain to get the furniture their need. When a young man named Noel came to Furniture Donation Network – with a tiny budget and an empty apartment – we made sure that he got the items he needed for a price he could afford. Noel, like many young people in the UK, had fallen on hard times and had no safety net. There was no family home for him to return to, so he needed good quality furniture as quickly as possible. Furniture Donation Network provided him with the household items he needed to turn his flat into a home.

With the help of generous householders, and in partnership with hardworking furniture collection charities across the country, Furniture Donation Network is helping people to furnish their homes and take the first step towards comfortable independent living.

Support us and donate your furniture today.