Wakefield Council works to combat child bed poverty with funding for 66 new beds
The local council has teamed up with bed poverty charity Zarach to help families in need
Hundreds of children across Wakefield are set to benefit from new beds this winter as part of a campaign aimed at tackling child bed poverty within the district.
Wakefield Council has committed £10,000 to support the work of specialist charity Zarach, helping to address an issue that sees 6,000 children in the area without a proper bed to sleep in – instead making do with floors, sofas, chairs, or even baths.
The funding, delivered through the Wakefield Residents First Group, will be used to work alongside Zarach to provide 66 brand new bed bundles to children in need.
Since Zarach began its work in Wakefield, 534 beds have been delivered, lifting 720 children out of bed poverty. A trusted referral network involving 118 schools in the area now highlights children in need who could benefit from receiving a bed.
Cllr Daniel Wilton, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “We’re working to tackle poverty in our district, wherever we find it. It’s shocking that 6,000 children are facing bed poverty across Wakefield.
“This is a long-standing national issue. But we can do our bit – through our Residents First Group – to support as many children as possible to have their own place to sleep so that they have the best start to life.”
First established in Leeds in 2017, Zarach now operates across West Yorkshire and some parts of England with higher levels of need. To date, it has delivered more than 15,000 beds to children referred by schools.
Statistics from Barnardo's estimate there are 900,000 children across the UK coping without a proper bed, with 6,000 of those young people based in the Wakefield district.