Starting over after a disaster or personal tragedy can feel overwhelming. Maybe you have just moved into a new home after experiencing homelessness. Maybe a fire or flood destroyed everything you owned. Maybe you have spent months living in a hotel while waiting for insurance or housing assistance to come through.
Whatever brought you here, an empty home can be a difficult reminder of everything you have been through.
At The Mustard Seed of Central Florida, we believe that a home should be more than four empty walls. It should be a place where you can rest, gather with your family, make memories, and begin to feel like yourself again.
Our Furniture Program helps families and individuals who have experienced disaster or personal tragedy rebuild their homes by providing household furnishings. We also work to keep usable furniture and materials out of local landfills, making our community stronger in more ways than one.
If you are wondering what it is like to become a client of The Mustard Seed, here is what you can expect—from your first phone call to the moment your furniture arrives home.
Step 1: Make the First Call
If you need furniture, your first step is to call The Mustard Seed’s office.
You will speak with one of our office staff members, who will collect some basic contact information and pass it along to our case manager. You do not have to have everything figured out before you call. This is the beginning of the process, and our team is here to help guide you through it.
After your information is received, our case manager will reach out to you by text message. They will introduce themselves and schedule a time to complete your home visit.
Our phones do get busy, please do not get discouraged if you get our answering machine. Please leave a voicemail and a staff member will return your call ASAP!
Already working with one of our amazing referral agencies? Be sure to ask your case manager there if they can help with completing a Mustard Seed referral. Check out our partner agencies here.
Step 2: Complete Your Home Visit
Your home visit is an important part of the process because it helps us understand what you need to make your new space feel like home.
And you do not have to worry about someone coming into your home for this visit. The Mustard Seed completes home visits virtually through a FaceTime call or a video call through WhatsApp.
During the home visit, your case manager will talk with you about your household and the furniture you need. They will confirm the number of people living in your home and determine which pieces of furniture will be appropriate for your household.
Once the home visit is complete and your needs have been confirmed, your case manager will complete your referral and send you a copy.
That referral is your next step toward receiving furniture.
Step 3: Call Back to Schedule Your Appointment
Once you receive your referral, it is time to call The Mustard Seed’s office again.
Every client must have an appointment to receive services. There are two types of appointments: own-truck appointments and delivery appointments.
If you live within 25 miles and 30 minutes of The Mustard Seed’s warehouse, you may be eligible for delivery for an additional fee. If you live outside of that service area—or if you would prefer not to pay for delivery—you can bring your own moving truck, such as a U-Haul.
Delivery appointments are scheduled according to the area of town being served, which is determined by your ZIP code.
Own-truck appointments are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis and can be scheduled on weekday mornings, Monday through Friday.
Step 4: Bring the Required Documents
Before your appointment, make sure you have the required identification documents.
To ensure that everyone listed in your household can receive the appropriate furniture, The Mustard Seed needs:
- Photo IDs for all adults in the household
- Social Security cards for all adults
- Birth certificates for each child
Our team will make copies of these documents and return the originals to you.
The number and type of furniture pieces you can receive are based on the number of people in your household. These documents help us make sure that the furniture assistance you receive reflects the needs of your family.
Any questions or concerns about the documentation needed? Reach out to us before your appointment so we can help! This will ensure your appointment runs smoothly.
Step 5: Come to the Warehouse and Choose Your Furniture
This is where the process starts to feel real.
Whether you are bringing your own truck or receiving a delivery, you will have approximately 30–40 minutes to walk through The Mustard Seed’s warehouse with a Client Specialist.
Your referral will serve as a guide. Your Client Specialist will show you the pieces you qualify to receive based on your household size and referral.
But there is something important to remember:
You get to choose your furniture!
This is your home. You get to walk through the warehouse, see what is available, and select the pieces that will work best for your family and your space.
On average, clients leave with approximately 20 pieces of furniture. But the support does not stop with beds, dressers, tables, and other household furnishings.
You may also be able to choose home décor, lamps, kitchen essentials, countertop appliances, linens, and towels.
What begins as an empty room can start to look—and feel—like home.
Step 6: Take Your Furniture Home
If you brought your own moving truck, your furniture is loaded as you select each piece. Once everything is loaded, you can take your furniture home in one trip.
If you have selected delivery, your furniture will be tagged as you choose your pieces. The items will then be loaded onto a truck the following business day and delivered to your home that morning.
For many clients, this is the moment when everything changes.
The room that once felt empty begins to have a purpose. A bed means a place to sleep. A dining table means a place to gather. A couch means somewhere to sit together after a long day.
Furniture may seem like something small when you look at it piece by piece. But when you are rebuilding your life, it can mean so much more.
What If I Also Need Clothing?
Sometimes furniture insecurity and clothing insecurity happen at the same time.
If you are a Mustard Seed Furniture Program client and are also experiencing clothing insecurity, you can be signed up for The Mustard Seed’s Clothing Program.
The Clothing Program is operated through The Seed Boutique, The Mustard Seed’s thrift store.
For up to one year, participating clients can purchase clothing at a reduced cost:
- $12 per adult
- $7 per senior or teen
- $5 per child
Each participant receives:
- 3 tops
- 3 bottoms
- 1 pair of pajamas
- 1 pair of shoes
- A week’s worth of underwear
- A week’s worth of socks
Because starting over is about more than furnishing a room. It is about rebuilding a life.
What Does It Mean to Become a Mustard Seed Client?
For many people, asking for help can be one of the hardest steps.
Furniture insecurity is often invisible. It may not look like homelessness or food insecurity from the outside. You may have a roof over your head but still be sleeping on the floor. You may have moved into a new apartment but have nothing to put inside it.
You may have spent months working to get your life back on track, only to arrive at a home that is completely empty.
If that is where you are, you are not alone.
At The Mustard Seed, we have the opportunity to be part of that next chapter. We help transform empty spaces into homes and give families something tangible to hold onto as they rebuild.
The process begins with a phone call. It continues with a home visit, an appointment, and a walk through our warehouse.
And then, piece by piece, something beautiful happens.
An empty room becomes a bedroom.
A house becomes a home.
And a family gets another chance to begin again.
Because everyone deserves to come home to hope.
