Detroit Houses the Oldest Furniture Bank in North America

PODCAST:

June 8, 2025 ~ Diane Charles, executive director of The Furniture Bank of Metro Detroit, runs the oldest furniture bank in North America. It provides essential furniture and mattresses to families transitioning from homelessness, domestic violence, house fires, floods, and other crisis situations. Since the 1960s, it has helped 80,000+ Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb county families with limited means rebuild their lives and live in dignity and comfort.

Jeff Lazar is the executive director of Yad Ezra, which provides supplemental kosher food, necessities, and enhancements of holidays and lifecycle events to those in need in the Jewish community. They are committed to operating a high-quality food pantry through hard work and the support of staff, volunteers, and donors.