A Teacher in Knowsley shared her experience of the impact that bed bundles had on the family of two of their pupils:
“A Mum came into school in floods of tears. The house that had been home for the family was being repossessed. The family were living in this property as a furnished, rented property. The family had been offered a property, however it was not a furnished property. Mum had no savings, was already existing on a very limited budget and the prospect of having to furnish a property had totally overwhelmed her, leaving her feeling incredibly stressed out and also incredibly vulnerable. Family and friends had managed to help her to a certain extent, however, with two young children to care for, mum had lots of furniture and equipment to source, but the most important thing to mum was that the children did not have a bed to sleep in. Mum said that she felt like a failure. She felt that it was her responsibility to care for her children. She was hard to convince that this situation was not of her making.
We contacted End Furniture Poverty and spoke with Nadia regarding the possibility of obtaining beds for the family. The response was absolutely amazing. The referral process was very easy to follow and we were supported through the process by the team. The following week, the family were provided with two new single bed bundles. This delivery took place during the Easter term holidays.
On the first day back in school, mum came into school and was again in floods of tears. She was literally astounded by the help that you had provided. To quote mum, the beds have, “Literally saved my life”. She stated that the children had never been so happy and eager to go to bed! She also said that although she acknowledges that she has made a few bad choices in her life, it felt very unfair that the children were being made to suffer for her mistakes. She said herself that all she could feel was despair. She genuinely couldn’t see a way out for herself.
To offer someone something like the beds for the children had made such an enormous impact upon this mum. She said that some days she felt that the whole world was against her, however she now felt a lot more positive about things. As for the children, they came into school very happy. They talked about the Easter break with their friends and teachers and the main theme of conversation was about their new beds. They seemed more settled in class, as although they had been in a house previously, because mum was aware that there were problems, there had been a lot of stress at home. Two beds, which have literally changed the lives of a family. A family now feeling more positive about their future, a family with two young children having their own beds to sleep in.
The gift of two beds has had such a huge impact upon this family. Mum herself said that she felt like she had won the lottery. The children have a sense of pride in their bedroom, having nice beds to sleep in, having a bed each to sleep in. But it’s more than just the physical bed. It’s the sense of safety and warmth provided to this family, it’s the belief that there are people who care, something which is quite difficult to believe when one is in a state of despair.
The final words must go to mum. “I cannot thank you enough for what you have done, you have literally changed our lives!”.
