Ikea plans donations to fight homelessness

The Stoughton Ikea store will donate 260 bags of home goods to homelessness programs in the Boston area this year as part of its plans to fight homelessness, the store said Monday.

The “Welcome Home Bags” will include items such as bedding, dishes, and cookware to help homeless people land on their feet. The housing supply store, which also plans to give jobs to homeless people, said it had committed to the donations in several meetings with charities in Boston and South Shore cities and towns.

“People moving from homelessness into more permanent situations really need the products that we have in our building,” said Brian Gott, a spokesman for the Ikea store in Stoughton.

Father Bill’s & MainSpring, a Quincy-based charity that provides shelter and services, will receive 150 bags. Ikea will also furnish two living rooms at a Father Bill’s shelter, and the store said it would offer jobs to formerly homeless people through the charity. Pine Street Inn will receive another 110 bags to help people move into apartments and group homes.

Gott said the Ikea store would spend $30,000 to support local charities. Other beneficiaries include the Red Cross, which will receive 100 kits to help people whose homes burn down, and Plymouth-based Carrying Hands and Boston-based Homeward Vets, which will receive mattresses from the store.