Ikea staff will be trained to offer advice on housing rights alongside flat-pack furniture as part of a new project to prevent homelessness.
‘Co-workers’ at the furniture giant will become ‘life at home experts’ next year as part of a new partnership with housing charity Shelter. The training will give staff the tools to help people in precarious housing situations to understand their rights in the hope it will help them keep their home.
In return, Ikea will also fund housing rights workers at Shelter’s advice hubs with the pair hoping to reach half a million people impacted by the housing emergency by 2030.
Both organisations have called on the government to build 90,000 social homes a year by the same year as a long measure to tackle the housing crisis.
Peter Jelkeby, country retail manager and chief sustainability officer for 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.
“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.”