‘We turn houses into homes’: Charity that gifts furniture to those in need will celebrate 25 years next year

A Northampton charity, which takes donated furniture, fixes and cleans it up and passes it on to those who need it, will be celebrating its 25th anniversary next year.

Spencer Contact, in Gladstone Close, helps to make a space a home – and everyone can benefit from the charity’s generosity.

Having seen sad situations of people sleeping on floors, sharing plates and cutlery, and using bin bags full of clothes as chairs, the team helps individuals and families to start afresh.

After officially being registered as a charity in 1994, Esther Scarsbrook and her husband Steve did not join until around six years ago.

What began as two ladies who attended church helping a family in need by transporting furniture using a trailer on the back of their car, grew to using their garage as storage as word spread about the work they did.

They outgrew the garage into a unit in Yelvertoft Road, Kingsthorpe, and then to the charity’s current location in Gladstone Close.

“It was just two ladies who knew they could help a family in need,” said Esther, who does a bit of everything at Spencer Contact. “It’s not much different almost 25 years later, but the need is greater sadly.”

The team provides free furniture to anyone, as there is no means test and you do not have to be on a specific type of financial benefits.

They get to know the clients, find out who lives at their property and what they need, which helps them put together a bundle of the most suitable items.

With long waiting times as the charity’s services are “so in demand”, they book furniture deliveries six to eight weeks in advance.

The collection of furniture that people want to donate is free, and can be booked in two to three weeks in advance.

Individuals and families can be referred through organisations, such as refuges, hospitals, the police, schools and Northampton Partnership Homes – and anyone is welcome to pick up the phone and get in touch with Spencer Contact if they need to use their services.

Esther told this newspaper: “We pulled up at a house a couple of years back, which will always stick in my mind as I worked in primary education for a long time.

“The kids were dancing on the lawn, running around, and were so happy.

“They had black bin bags as seats and wardrobes, which they used on the floor with no carpet.”

Esther and the team provided the family with a table to eat their meals from, wardrobes, a television stand, a sofa, rugs and other household essentials.

“We left that house with the kids sitting on the sofa and one eating dinner at the table,” Esther added. “It makes you well up.

“These situations happen in our own streets, around the corner – it doesn’t matter what kind of estate you live on. It could be happening next door to you.”

Another stand out moment for Esther is when she and Steve visited a restaurant around a year ago.

She did not register that she still had her Spencer Contact uniform on and was surprised when she was recognised by a member of staff at the restaurant.

Esther said: “15 years ago, before Steve and I started, this woman shared how Spencer Contact helped her.

“She was an alcoholic, pushed her family and friends away, and they came in and helped her.

“When the charity left her house, she said she cried and couldn’t believe they had done that for free.

“That was her first step to recovery as she knew someone cared, and she now runs a successful business.”

Spencer Contact gives people the break they need and Esther admits, to Steve’s surprise, she was “in floods of tears” when she was told the story by the owner of the restaurant.

“People are blown away by it,” said Esther. “A lot do not realise the scale of the work going on here.”

With backgrounds in law and education, working for Spencer Contact was “not on the cards” for the pair – but they thoroughly enjoy making a difference every day, though it can be challenging dealing with sad circumstances.

In order to raise funds to keep the charity going, they open to the public for a week in May and November.

Half the warehouse is cleared to sell furniture as cheaply as they can, to help out those in the surrounding areas and raise vital funds to keep them afloat.

Last month’s goal was to raise £5,000 and after smashing the target, they reduced everything by half price to enable people to “turn their house into a home”.

Every penny goes straight back into the charity – from paying staff wages and keeping the vans running, to covering their building’s overheads.

Spencer Contact says a good donation is “clean, complete and unbroken” and they are not worried about the age of an item, but about the quality.

The team clean, valet and repair items, and would not give out furniture if they would not have it in their own homes.

The most the charity charges for the delivery of furniture is £65, which depends on the number of items you are being given.

“You could get your whole house furnished for that price,” said Esther.

Spencer Contact is always on the lookout for willing volunteers and anyone interested can contact them on 01604 587589 or [email protected].

For more information, you can visit Spencer Contact’s Facebook page here.