Client Story: Nicholas

Nicholas had been living in an apartment with only an air mattress for five months and used it to sleep and eat on. Thanks to YOUR kind support, Nicholas doesn’t have to choose between buying food or furniture.

Nicholas, who was born blind in one eye, works at Lighthouse Central Florida – a nonprofit that provides training, rehabilitation and employment for blind and visually impaired people. Lighthouse referred Nicholas to The Mustard Seed for home furnishings.

“I was trying to make it with just the air mattress and I thought, ‘One day I’m going to get some furniture,’” Nicholas said. “With this furniture I can say to friends, ‘Hey, come to my house and hang out.’ I haven’t had anyone over because they’d have to sit on the floor.”

Nicholas, 30, grew up in Louisiana. He said his mother was exposed to chemicals while pregnant, which caused his blindness. Nicholas moved to Orlando in 2018 after landing a job in a call center at Lighthouse.

He said he couldn’t afford the rent he was paying in his previous apartment and moved into low-income housing in January 2020. He learned about The Mustard Seed in March, but when local government shut down non-essential businesses in March due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Nicholas said he assumed The Mustard Seed was closed. He said he waited for businesses to reopen before scheduling an appointment to receive home furnishings.

Nicholas received 15 pieces of furniture from The Mustard Seed, including home decor to personalize his home.

“Once you put furniture into your house it becomes a home,” Nicholas said. “Right now, it feels like an abandoned house. So it’s amazing I can get all of this furniture.”

Donate today to help others like Nicholas.

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