Job Loss and Temporary Homelessness
It’s 92 degrees outside, and rising. You’re fanning yourself with an old newspaper, hoping your disposable water bottle lasts until the afternoon ends. You take a sip, knowing you probably shouldn’t yet, but you can’t really help it. The air’s just too hot. The water tastes how heat feels: synthetic, as if the bottle’s plastic had melted and mixed in with the remaining water. You let it sit in your mouth for a moment, lips cold in comparison. You swallow. It kind of stings.
There was a time, not long ago, when your fridge poured out ice at the press of a button, and every room welcomed you with crisp, conditioned air. That time has passed. Now, you sit alone on the floor of the stuffy, condemned warehouse you once worked in, back aching, skin worn raw by a mixture of stone dust and sweat. The ground, you’ve discovered, is no place for a man.
It all felt so easy, when the warehouse was open. You paid rent on time and spent weeknights in the living room, playing games with your roommates. It didn’t cross your mind even once how someone might miss the quiet dignity of a chair. Or a couch. Or a beanbag. Your back ached, but differently—from work, not the ground. You knew it wasn’t forever, but it wasn’t supposed to end so soon. It definitely wasn’t supposed to end like this.
Donating your couch won’t stop the heat or bring back the AC. It won’t reopen warehouses. But here, at Mark’s New England Furniture Foundation, we know that comfort matters. Dignity matters. And nobody deserves to spend their life on the ground. We know that most people are far closer to the floor than they are the glass ceiling, so we’ve made it our mission to help wherever and whenever you need us.
Whether you’re ready to donate, or you’re struggling to make ends meet, don’t hesitate to reach out, and make your mark where it matters. Life’s hard, but the ground’s even harder. Let’s get you back on your feet!
