Find

FIND Edmonton is a unique, community-focused social enterprise that provides a crucial, often overlooked service in the fight to end homelessness: transforming an empty housing unit into a dignified, fully furnished home. Operating as the essential link between securing housing and achieving true stability, FIND’s mission is to provide the furniture, household goods, and essential supplies that people who have been homeless need when they move into their own long-term accommodation.

FIND is strategically aligned with Homeward Trust Edmonton and its network of housing support agencies, acting as a retail and donation powerhouse with a profound social purpose. It is built on a sustainable model: it operates a successful thrift store that generates revenue to fund its charitable work, ensuring that proceeds from the community’s donations directly benefit those moving out of homelessness. The entire organization is dedicated to the philosophy that housing should be a place of warmth, security, and respect, not just four empty walls.

The Hidden Crisis of the Empty Apartment

While securing permanent housing for people who have been homeless is the primary goal of the Housing First approach, the reality of moving into an empty apartment can be an overwhelming barrier to long-term success. Imagine moving in with only the clothes you are wearing—no bed, no curtains, no fork, and no way to cook a meal.

This lack of basic furnishings and housewares creates a profound sense of instability and can immediately undermine the positive step of moving out of homelessness. Without essential items, the apartment does not feel like a home; it remains a transient space, reinforcing the psychological instability that contributed to the homelessness in the first place.

FIND addresses this exact crisis. By providing the essential items that turn a housing unit into a home, FIND restores a sense of normalcy, ownership, and dignity. When a client is connected through a support agency, FIND ensures they are equipped with everything necessary to start their new life, from a warm mattress and bedding to kitchen essentials and personal hygiene items.

The Sustainable Social Enterprise Model

What sets FIND apart is its two-part operational model—a thriving retail environment funding a critical charitable service:

1. The Charitable Mission (Furnishing Homes): This is the core purpose. In partnership with housing support agencies, FIND takes referrals to fully furnish apartments for clients moving out of homelessness. This process is deeply empowering: clients and their caseworkers select the items they need, giving them choice and ownership over their new environment. This process affirms their dignity, treating them as valued customers rather than passive recipients of charity. The goods provided—often high-quality, pre-loved items—ensure the new space is comfortable and welcoming.
2. The Retail Outlet (The Thrift Store): The organization manages a large, well-organized thrift store that accepts donations of furniture, clothing, and housewares from the public. The proceeds generated from the sale of these donated goods in the retail space are reinvested directly back into the charitable mission. This self-sustaining cycle means that when the Edmonton community shops or donates to FIND, they are directly and tangibly contributing to the solution for homelessness in their city.

This structure provides financial stability and community buy-in, ensuring that every donation and every purchase fuels the goal of ending homelessness.

The Impact: From Four Walls to a Stable Home

The impact of FIND’s work is transformative on both a systemic and personal level:

• Systemic Efficiency: By managing the logistics of furniture collection, storage, and distribution, FIND frees up the time and resources of frontline housing support agencies. Instead of spending hours gathering basic items, caseworkers can focus on providing essential health, employment, and mental health supports to their clients, making the entire Housing First system more efficient.
• Restoring Dignity: The ability to choose a bed, a dining table, or a piece of art is an act of reclaiming identity and personal control—rights often stripped away by the experience of homelessness. This process sends a powerful message: Your comfort matters, and this space is truly yours.
• Improving Tenancy Success: A comfortable, furnished home is a place people want to stay. By stabilizing the environment, FIND significantly increases the likelihood that people who were formerly homeless will maintain their tenancy, avoiding the costly and disruptive cycle of re-entry into homelessness. A warm bed, a clock, and a stocked kitchen are not luxuries; they are fundamental tools for success and stability.

FIND Edmonton from Homeward Trust is a brilliant example of how a social enterprise can integrate charitable work with sustainable business practice to address a critical community need. It is more than a thrift store; it is the engine that provides the tangible contents of hope and stability, ensuring that when a person is housed, they are truly set up for success in their new life.