Flourish Furniture Bank helping 8 formerly unhoused Kansas City families stock their homes

By Steve Kraske,

Published December 21, 2023 at 4:14 PM CST

Ways To Subscribe

A man wearing a gray shirt stands at left talking. Behind him is an upturned table on a workbench inside a large warehouse where rows of shelves and more furniture is seen in the background. — Flourish Furniture Bank volunteer Dennis Smith wheels in some donated furniture through the nonprofit's showroom to the holding area where it will be evaluated and touched up or repaired before being put into the showroom for guests to pick from.

In the days before Christmas, Flourish Furniture Bank, the only nonprofit of its kind in the Kansas City area, plans to fully furnish eight homes for people experiencing housing insecurity.

On Friday, Flourish Furniture Bank will fully furnish the homes of eight formerly unhoused Kansas Citians. The Grandview-based nonprofit organizationhas furnished over 900 homes in the metro so far in 2023.

Dennis Smith, a volunteer at Flourish, says it is incredibly fulfilling and emotionally moving to help people outfit their homes free of charge.

"It's a really amazing feeling to watch them choose, and they get to pick what they want," said Smith. "So, it's their choice and that's sometimes overwhelming for them, but we give them enough space and support that they can choose and they're amazed at how much they can have."

To learn more about how to help out at Flourish, you can visit their website here.

Amy Cox, executive director of Flourish Furniture Bank
Dennis Smith, volunteer at Flourish Furniture Bank