Moving into your own place after homelessness is a huge milestone — and it usually means starting with empty rooms. A mattress, a kitchen table, dishes, towels: the basics most people take for granted can cost hundreds of dollars you may not have. Minneapolis has a network of nonprofits and county programs built for exactly this moment — some options are entirely free, while others (like furniture bank delivery and appointment fees) come with a cost that assistance programs can help cover. Here’s what’s actually free, what it costs, and how to get help paying for it.
Bridging: Minnesota’s Furniture Bank
Bridging is the largest resource of its kind in the state, providing gently-used furniture and household goods — couches, kitchen tables and chairs, mattresses and box springs, linens, dishes, and more — to people rebuilding a home. Since 1987, Bridging has helped well over 100,000 households get back on their feet with a basic, functioning home setup.
- Referral required: everyone who shops at Bridging is referred by a case manager or one of Bridging’s partner agencies — you cannot show up without one
- Appointment fee: $80, though your referring agency or case manager may be able to help cover it
- Delivery: $230 within the 7-county metro area, or pick up your items yourself for free
- Locations: Bloomington (201 W 87th Street), Plymouth (12864 Hwy 55), and Roseville (1730 Terrace Drive)
- Phone: 952-888-1105
How to Get a Referral
If you already work with a case manager, housing navigator, or social worker, ask them directly about a Bridging referral — they can typically set up your appointment. If you don’t currently have a case manager, Bridging’s website offers an agency finder tool to connect you with a partner organization near you that can make the referral on your behalf.
Help Covering the Setup Costs
Even with free items, fees like Bridging’s appointment charge or delivery can be a barrier. Hennepin County’s Emergency General Assistance program can help.
- It covers costs tied to housing stability, including moving expenses and replacement of essential appliances
- It’s available once per household per year
- You’ll need to complete a phone interview as part of the application
- Apply by calling 612-596-1300 or online at mnbenefits.mn.gov
If you live outside Hennepin County, your own county’s human services office likely offers a similar emergency assistance program — it’s always worth asking.
Other Ways to Furnish Your Home
A few more options are worth checking as you fill in the gaps:
- Habitat for Humanity ReStore: not free, but sells donated furniture, appliances, and building materials at a steep discount, with proceeds supporting local affordable housing
- Thrift stores and community drives: Salvation Army, Arc’s Value Village, and local church or mutual aid groups often have low-cost or free household item programs — ask your case manager which are active near you
- Online community groups: Buy Nothing groups and neighborhood Facebook groups in the Twin Cities regularly give away furniture for free to anyone who can pick it up
Where Hues Hope Can Help
Hues Hope keeps a current list of organizations offering Household Items resources across the Twin Cities, alongside our guides to Housing resources and Financial Assistance for anyone working through the many pieces of a fresh start. If you’re not sure where to begin, reach out — we can help you figure out which resource fits your situation first.
You Don’t Have to Furnish a Home Alone
Turning an empty apartment into an actual home takes more than a lease — it takes a bed to sleep in, a table to eat at, and the everyday items that make a space livable. Between Bridging, county emergency assistance, and the community organizations across Minneapolis ready to help, no one moving out of homelessness has to furnish their new home from nothing. Start with a phone call to your case manager or to Bridging directly, and take that next step toward a place that finally feels like yours.