Steve’s story

Steve’s story

Steve – a 30-year veteran of the furnishing industry – has battled with serious health problems for many years now.

We first became aware of his situation in 2018 when he was made redundant from his job at a furniture retailer. It wasn’t long after this that Steve was admitted to hospital to receive treatment.

Unable to work, Steve approached us for financial assistance to get him through the difficult situation, which we were happy to do.

Sadly, Steve’s health continued to decline, and his mobility severely deteriorated to the point where he was going to be unable to work indefinitely and would have to rely on welfare benefits.

Steve applied for Personal Independence Payments and sheltered accommodation from his local authority, but after five months he was still waiting for his application to be processed by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Steve turned again to The Furniture Makers’ Company to see if we’d be able to support him. We swiftly processed his application and offered a one-off grant to assist him while he awaited the outcome. Steve is now happily living in affordable, accessible sheltered accommodation. He is very thankful of the help we provided him.

Steve said: “When I lost my job in furniture retail through ill health a few years ago, the charity helped me with a grant when I most needed it. The care and compassion has continued and the charity once again has helped me through another difficult situation. After spending 30 plus years in the trade, it is good to know that there is someone that has your back in times of need. Thank you.”