IQALUIT - Women who need a safe place to stay in Iqaluit will have all the comforts of home after the Frobisher Inn donates the entire contents of its hotel rooms to the women's shelter in Iqaluit this week.

All of Frobisher Inn's 95 rooms are being renovated and staff were trying to decide what to do with the older furniture, said Rainer Launhardt, vice president of Nunastar Properties' hotels division.

Hotel manager Carlos Montenegro brought up the idea of donating the older furniture to the women's shelter.

"It came about because we have 95 rooms here and we had a discussion on what to do with the furniture," Launhardt said. "Carlos came up and asked, 'How about if we donate the furniture to the women's shelter?'"

Launhardt said every item from the rooms will be given to the shelter except for the beds, which the shelter doesn't need.

"We will fully furnish the 10 bedrooms of the shelter from the curtains to TVs, the whole bit," he said.

Caroline Anawak, executive director of YWCA Agvvik Nunavut, said the news of the donation came just as she was trying to determine how the shelter was going to replace its furniture.

"I was looking at this in June thinking, 'What are we going to do?'" Anawak said. "The wear and tear is excessive, our occupancy rates have been as high as 106 to 110 per cent."

Anawak said much of the furniture has been in the shelter since it moved to its current location in Apex more than ten years ago. She said while the furniture from previous donors is still appreciated, it's time to replace it.

"I don't want to deflect from their efforts, it is simply that this is years and years later and there is wear and tear like a normal place would have with a large amount of people."

Anawak said the furniture will not only improve the look of the rooms, it will provide much-needed encouragement for women who have fled their homes due to violent situations.

Anawak said even simple items like desks and chairs can make a huge impact on the mental well-being of a family.

"When you get a chance to give a mother who has children a desk and chair for her child to do their homework on, that speaks a lot to helping a family," she said.

She also said the new furniture will give the families a place to keep their belongings.

"People try to donate clothing but when you don't have enough dressers where do you put it?" she said. "All of these things are part of the big picture."

Launhardt said Frobisher Inn staff will pack and deliver the furniture to the shelter this week.

"The furniture is going to be taken out and going straight down," he said. "It will be put to very good use."