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For Referring Agencies, Social Workers, Counselors, Clergy, etc. |
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Who can you refer to the Mustard Seed?
Our main focus and mission is to provide furnishings to those
who have suffered a natural or real personal tragedy, an
illness, homelessness or abuse.
We may provide a cancer patient who needs to keep medications
refrigerated with a refrigerator to replace one that stopped
working. Or give a replacement stove to an elderly person on a
low fixed income. Or give furnishings to displaced parents that
need them in order to be approved to be reunited with their
children. Those who are building a new life for themselves away
from abusive spouses are also candidates for assistance.
We ask you to help us reduce the number of clients who come to
us that do not qualify for our services. Please match clients'
situations to the Mustard Seed's mission -- to use our limited
resources to help those who are more than just financially
stressed, but are families in crisis.
Mustard Seed furniture benefits are once in a lifetime unless
there has been an uninsured disaster or other new personal
tragedy. Clients may visit the Clothing Bank multiple times.
If you have any question about eligibility, feel free to contact
us to discuss specific client situations.
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What do you need to do before sending clients to the Mustard
Seed?
Prior to sending clients to us, a home inspection must be done
by the referring party to verify furniture need, unless the
client is moving from a shelter or are uninsured victims of
disasters. However in these cases, a referral letter must come
from the American Red Cross, the Fire or Police Department, or
the shelter where they were residing.
• Your client must have a referral letter to be considered for
furniture from the Mustard Seed. Requirements for the letter are
as follows: The letter must be on agency or church letterhead
stationary.
• Please include the contact name, phone number, and title of
the person writing the referral. If from a church, the referral
should be from a church official such as the minister, associate
pastor, etc.
• Describe how this client matches the mission of the Mustard
Seed (e.g. disaster victim, homeless, domestic violence victim,
etc.). Verify that there was no insurance for disaster victims.
• State the date of the home inspection if applicable.
• Specifically tell us what you feel are the furniture needs of
this client.
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What instructions should you give your clients?
The Mustard Seed office is open for interviews from 9-11:30 a.m.
and 1:30-3:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Interviews are on a first come, first served basis; we do not
usually make appointments.
Click Here
for a printer-friendly information sheet with our location and
telephone numbers that you can give your clients.
Your client should bring the following documentation. We will
make copies and return the originals.
• Referral letter from your agency or church (and/or the Red
Cross, Fire or Police Departments if applicable). You may also
mail or FAX these letters to our office.
• $40 processing fee in cash or money order. Required before
the interview.
• Delivery is available for a fee
of $60
• Picture ID and social security card
• Lease agreement or Deed
• Social security cards or birth certificates for all minor
children in the household. If the children are not your client's
biological or adopted children, bring proof of custody/
guardianship.
• Proof of income (paystub, alimony, child support, etc.)
Please remind clients as needed, that we will not tolerate
aggressive or abusive behavior or language on our premises. Such
behavior is grounds for refusing that client any furniture or
clothing benefits, both now and in the future.
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What can your clients expect to happen when they go to the
Mustard Seed?
At the initial visit, the client(s) will sign in and fill out an
application form while waiting for their turn to be interviewed.
One of our staff members will review the application and all the
documentation with the client(s) and talk to them about their
situation, their furniture needs and their plans for becoming
independent. We have applications in Spanish and staff who speak
Spanish if needed.
After the interview, the client(s) will be told if they have
been approved for assistance from the Mustard Seed. At this
point, a day for pickup or delivery will be scheduled. Pickups
are on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9-11 a.m. and 1:30-3
p.m. Generally, they cannot take furniture home on the day of
the interview. If they wish to have furniture delivered, a
$60
delivery fee in cash or money order will be required prior to
delivery by a Mustard Seed truck. |
What can you do to help us keep the process running smoothly
and free of conflict?
• Please don't tell your clients that they will
definitely receive furniture from us. Our staff will make that
decision after the interview, and refund their fee if we cannot
help them. This will save us both a great deal of grief.
• The Mustard Seed Furniture Bank is a once in a lifetime
benefit. Please help us reduce the number of applicants that we
will have to turn away by asking your clients if they have
received furniture from us before. If so, they are not eligible
for more furniture unless they have had an uninsured fire or
similar circumstance documented by the Red Cross, Fire, or
Police Department. One of the first things we do with an
application is to look up the name and social security number in
our client database to verify eligibility. Note that they
may still be eligible to visit the Clothing Bank which does not
require a referral letter.
• Make sure that your client brings all supporting
documentation and the processing fee to the initial visit to the
Mustard Seed. We will not process their application without
it and it will be a wasted and frustrating trip. We strictly
adhere to this policy because in the past, many went through the
application and interview process and then never returned with
the missing ID or to pay the fee and pick up furniture ... a
waste of our scant administrative resources. Note: This fee is
to help defray processing costs only; the furniture is given
free of charge. |
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