IKEA embarks on new partnership with the Shelter housing and homelessness charity
IKEA has embarked on a new long-term partnership with housing and homelessness charity, Shelter, which will see the two organisations advocate for half a million people impacted by the housing crisis.
Over the course of the partnership, IKEA and Shelter will launch a series of initiatives with the aim of increasing access to support and opportunities for people affected. They are also calling on the Government to build 90,000 social homes per year by 2030.
From early 2023, IKEA and Shelter will train co-workers to become ‘Life at Home Experts’ and help people in precarious housing situations to understand their rights and keep hold of their homes before they reach crisis point. IKEA will also fund ‘Housing Rights Workers’, who will be based in Shelter advice hubs.
The move marks the first time that Shelter has trialled the ‘Life at Home Experts’ initiative with any partner, which will see co-workers trained by the charity to understand local and national housing issues and rights.
The partnership will also include a three-year research project that follows families living in social housing.
Peter Jelkeby, country retail manager and chief sustainability officer at IKEA UK & Ireland, said: “At IKEA, we want to create a better everyday life for the many people. This ambition goes beyond just home furnishing: We want to have a positive impact on the world. Our partnership with Shelter will help us do that by providing support to the millions of people across the UK that do not currently have a place to call home.
“We’re in a national housing and cost-of-living crisis that’s hitting families and people suffering homelessness the hardest. That’s why it’s even more important for companies such as ours to take responsibility and contribute positively to the neighbourhoods we’re part of. Together with Shelter, our mission is to ensure that by 2030, half a million of those in need have access to a better life at home.”
