Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Question: How does A Hand Up collect goods?
Answer: A Hand Up collects furniture and household goods in good conditions. Volunteers
search for and collect items from our list of need items. The items are either stored at
the volunteer’s place or arrangements can be made to deliver them or have them picked
up.
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2. Question: What items does A Hand Up collect?
Answer: A Hand Up collects the following items: Furniture: Donated furniture should be
in good, presentable condition, no rips, no stains · Beds (in good condition and not more
than 10 years old) - twins, doubles and queens · Small sofas · Small armchairs ·
Dressers · End tables · Lamps · Kitchen tables and chairs · Linens: · Blankets ·
Sheets · Bedspreads · Comforters · Pillows (new) · Bath towels and kitchen towels ·
Kitchenware: · Pots and pans · Dishes · Glasses · Silverware · Cooking utensils ·
Serving bowls and platters
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3. Question: How do I donate goods to A Hand Up?
Answer: If you would like to donate items to A Hand Up please call (860) 424-2980
Monday-Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. If you plan to bring the donations to us,
you can make an appointment over the phone. If you would like to have your donation picked
up, we will make an appointment with you to pick it up.
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4. Question: How does the program distribute goods?
Answer: All of the items collected by A Hand Up are provided directly to clients in
need, free of charge. A Hand Up works with a number of social agencies to identify
families and their specific needs. Volunteers deliver furniture and other household goods
directly to client homes. None of the goods collected are resold.
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5. Question: Who supports A Hand Up financially?
Answer: All of A Hand Up’s financial support comes from private donations.
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6. Question: How many people are homeless every night in Hartford?
Answer: In Hartford nearly 1,500 people are homeless every night. 64% of them have some
kind of income.
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7. Question: What is the demographic breakdown of the homeless in
Hartford?
Answer: The demographic breakdown of the homeless in Hartford is:
- 40% white
- 30% black
- 30% Hispanic
- 1/3 female, 2/3 male
- 10% children
- 7% veterans
- Average age 37
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8. Question: Isn’t supportive housing available to people trying to
get independent housing?
Answer: Currently about 2,700 families are on the waiting list for government supported
(Section 8) housing vouchers, even though the list has not accepted new applicants since
2001.
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9. Question: With assistance through section 8 housing, isn’t it a
lot easier people moving out of homelessness to make a living?
Answer: A renter must earn $16.79 an hour to afford the average rent for a two-bedroom
apartment in the Hartford metro area. About 28,500 people in the Hartford metro area
cannot afford the rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the region.
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10. Question: What are the main reason people become homeless?
Answer: Health problems and inadequate income are the main reasons people become
homeless.
11. Question: How can I help?
Answer: There are many ways to help.
- You can volunteer to help collect and deliver household goods and furnishings to one of
our clients
- If you have a truck you can volunteer to drive and pick-up and deliver items to our
clients
- You can adopt a family’s list of items and collect the needed items
- You can make a financial contribution
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12. Question: What do you use financial contributions for?
Answer: A Hand Up, Inc. is entirely volunteer run. We do have expenses that need to be
covered like rental fees for our storage unit, office supplies and government filing fees
and insurance fees.
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Contact us for more information
