Our History

In 1992, Oli Mohammed, then an employee of Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County (MHMRA), created The Furniture Bank to provide previous enjoyed home furnishing to mentally ill individuals and families that were homeless and had received housing assistance.

Due to loss of funding from the State, MHMRA was forced to cut The Furniture Bank from its services. The Furniture Bank became an independent 501©3 September 1, 2003.

Today, The Furniture Bank is no longer just a vision of Oli Mohammed’s who now operates as the organization’s Executive Director; it now serves over 70 nonprofit charitable agencies within the Houston area. Since it’s inception The Furniture Bank has serviced over 18,000 families with household goods.

From these 60 charitable agencies, needy individual and families that are living at the extreme poverty level (approximately 70%), come to The Furniture Bank with a variety of issues; physical and mental disabilities, senior citizens with little or no income, victims of domestic violence, single women with children, people recovering from chemical dependency, veterans, refugees, individuals suffering from AIDS, and natural disaster victims like Katrina and Rita.

Oli often says, “Furniture is a critical stepping stone to improve living conditions and elevate an individual’s personal pride and dignity. To thrive, humans require simple creature comforts.” The Furniture Bank offers these creature comforts through previously enjoyed bedroom, living room, and dining room furniture along with kitchen utensils and toys.

A few of the charitable agencies well known in the Houston area that are now served by The Furniture Bank: MHMRA, Star of Hope, Child Protective Services.