Campaign: Help lift Peterborough children off the floor and provide a bed for everyone
David* has another long day at school ahead of him – with PE, tests and other lessons ahead of him.
What makes it harder for the youngster, is that rather than waking up in his own bed, he’s been sleeping on the floor again, unable to get that crucial eight hours sleep to prepare him for school.
David (not his real name) is not alone in having to make do with a makeshift bed.
The heartbreaking truth is that for some people in Peterborough, the thought of a comfy night’s sleep is just a dream, as they don’t have – and are unable to afford – a bed, something that so many of us take for granted.
Plenty of those without a bed are children, forced to sleep on the floor or just a pile of clothes, with the lack of good sleep affecting school work, behaviour and moods.
The team at Carezone, based at Fengate, have been doing their best to help, and for those households in desperate need, have been able to provide one bed, with hundreds provided last year alone. But for some families, one bed is not enough – with parents being left to chose which family member gets the bed.
Now, after seeing so many families left in tears, a vital new campaign has been launched – the Goodnight, Sleeptight, a Bed for Everyone campaign – in a bid to ensure everyone who needs a bed can get one.
But to achieve this, they are looking for help to raise £80,000 – enough to pay for the 800 beds they think they’ll need this year.
Parent’s have to decide which children get a bed and which don’t
Lizzie Steel, a volunteer at Carezone, spoke of why the campaign was so important. She said :“One particular case that stands out was a parent sitting in front of me with six children, and I said it is brilliant that I’ve got a bed to give to you – and the parent was sitting in tears, because he had to decide which of his children is he going to chose (to have the bed), who is he going to prioritise. It is such a difficult decision to hear about. As a parent and a volunteer, you can really empathise with them, and understand how it would feel.
"Being able to give each of those children a bed would take out that whole dilemma and take out that whole heartbreaking situation.
“I come from working in schools, and I’ve seen the direct impact not having a good night sleep can have kids at school – behavioural issues, mental health issues – actually having a good night sleep is so important, so if we can give each of them a bed, everyone in the family is covered, it would make a huge difference to them.”
“Last year we gave over 400 beds away to our families, this year we want to give a further 800"
Noah Symonds, the manager at Carezone explained exactly what is needed to make the campaign a success. He said: “Last year we gave over 400 beds away to our families, this year we want to give a further 800.
"To do that, we need to spend £100 on a bed, and that will cost us £80,000.
"The reason we want money, rather than donations, is that it we know it is good quality brand new beds we can give out, and it also helps us manage stock levels as we give out furniture, so we are not overloading ourselves with beds and we can manage the warehouse space.”
“32 per cent of children in this city are living in poverty. That is not OK”
Julie Gooding, development worker for Carezone explained who would be eligible for the beds – and how people can back the campaign. She said: “Carezone clients come to us because they don’t have essential furniture. They are assessed as not having it, and they don’t have the money to buy essential furniture. We work with major health and social work providers in the city, schools, doctor’s surgeries – people that are engaged with vulnerable people who are in need, they make assessments and send clients to us.
"Statistics show that around 32 per cent of children in this city are living in poverty. That is not OK. It is not a great statistic for Peterborough. But what we know is that Peterborough has a great heart. We have over 200 volunteers across our projects, that are helping people make a difference in their lives. We think this project is really important, for the whole of Peterborough to come together to lift people off the floor to get a bed to sleep on.
"You can find the campaign on our Carezone website, and what we are hoping for is that, all across the city, businesses, schools, families, community groups all join together to support the campaign. If you look at the website, it will give you lots of ideas, and how to connect with us, so you can plan your fundraising, your events – and we’d love to hear about what you are going to do.”
How you can help
Businesses and individuals are being urged to hold fundraising events this year to help raise the thousands of pounds needed.
Contact [email protected] to find out more about fundraising ideas, resources and links to the fundraising page, or visit https://givestar.io/ev/goodnight-sleeptight-a-carezone-campaign or https://kingsgate.church/goodnightsleeptight/