Susan* is a beautiful, middle aged, First Nations woman who has been homeless for a year. She and her partner were among the first to receive the IKEA furniture and household goods. After she had transported her bed, love seat, dining table and chairs and 2 big bins of IKEA household goods in 3 loads, to her new bachelor apartment, she came back.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” she said, with tears in her eyes. “I have lived in this SUV for an entire year. I’ve been cold, hungry and hopeless. You can’t imagine how it feels to have my own home with beautiful furniture and everything I need. Please send my thanks to IKEA and tell your volunteers that they have saved my life”.

*not her real name; anonymized to protect her identity