What We Do
The mission of Just Human Foundation is to build a community that collects, stores, and redistributes curated home goods donations to families transitioning out of homelessness and escaping domestic violence. By creating this community, we are able to support the families’ emotional well-being and housing stability and, ultimately, disrupt the cycle of family violence.
It takes three simple steps.
Locals donate gently used home goods (lamps, textiles, curtains, artwork) or shiny new essentials (linens, candles, throw pillows). Donations can be dropped off at our storage space every Saturday or picked up if within Hudson County.
Local Service providers submit profiles of each family’s needs…..a sort of wish list / vision board. We ask questions such as: What are the children’s interests? What is most important to the family unit? How do they like to spend time together? What belongings do they already have that can be incorporated into the design?
We sift through our curated inventory and select items that match these profile needs. Create a home that these families can TRULY LOVE!
Why & How?.
The need in Hudson County is great. In 2018, 735 households, including 860 persons, were experiencing homelessness in our county with many more on the brink. (Source)
Persons experiencing domestic violence, particularly women and children with limited economic resources, are at increased vulnerability for homelessness. (Source)
We are committed to creating a personalized approach to each family’s needs, connecting those who donate to those who receive, knowing that there is very little that separates the two. This conscious effort is meant to help break down systems of “us versus them” thinking that perpetuate systematic oppressions and, instead, aim to bring a sense of humanity into our efforts.
Ways that we do this:
Curate shopping lists to match wish lists submitted by families. Invite volunteers to participate in set ups. We also set a standard for what is accepted as used donations, encouraging donors to donate items that they have cherished and valued in their own home rather than things that they just want to dispose of.
Immediate goals: to offer dignity to those impacted by homelessness and domestic violence and to support them as they transition into a period of healing and rebuilding.
Long term goals: we aspire to create a community based program that is replicable in other cities across the nation, requiring very little other than a group of people seeking to make change.