A young Tauranga mum and her two kids are sharing a bed in her parents' damp, uninsulated garage. The children have all been in hospital with respiratory problems.
"What's really sad and frustrating about this story is that it's echoed up and down the country every winter," says Variety National Programmes Manager, Emma Bolwell. "The alarming fact is that more than one in 10 children in our poorest communities don't have their own bed."*
Variety is turning to New Zealanders through its Warm Hearts Winter Appeal to fund beds and bedding for 417 Kiwi kids who are sleeping on the floor, on mouldy mattresses, or bed-sharing due to over-crowding this winter.
The charity has teamed up with Healthy Homes Initiative providers like Nik Gregg to identify the children most in need. Nik works with low-income families in the Bay of Plenty to help make their homes dry and warm.
"Many families I visit are living in cold, damp conditions that lead to illness, respiratory concerns, hospitalisation and a miserable environment," Gregg says.
"Exacerbating these already poor living conditions, our families are struggling with not enough beds and bedding – sleeping on mattresses on the floor, sleeping on couches and sharing beds. Without their own bed, children are easily sharing germs, bacteria and viruses while sleeping.
The cornerstone of Gregg's Healthy Homes activity is to enable children to have their own 'sleeping space', critical in slowing the spread of germs such as strep throat.
"If we can help the home be warm enough to use all the bedrooms, help the home be large enough to accommodate the full family and importantly, help each child to have their own bed, this will have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of our most vulnerable families," he says.
"'For a child, having their own bed is not only healthy but it also gives them a sense of safe space, of comfort and warmth, and most of all, a good night's sleep – vital for physical and mental growth.
"The pleasure and delight we see on the face of a young child when they receive their own blanket says it all: 'It's mine, I can cuddle it, it will keep me warm, I can sleep with it'. The sense of 'bed ownership' is equally strong. They think, 'this is my space', 'my home within a home'."
Gregg and two colleagues visit around 500 homes each year, all with vulnerable young children under five, many regular visitors to hospital.
"A large portion of these homes have bedding issues – not enough beds, poor beds, not enough space, just mattresses, poor blankets, not enough blankets. We currently have a waiting list for 30-40 beds for the most critical needs."
A gift to the Variety Warm Hearts Winter Appeal this winter will fund beds and bedding for 417 children in 'critical needs' homes all around New Zealand.
Where the money goes
- $39 funds a warm blanket.
- $80 funds a bedding pack (duvet inner, sheets, duvet cover, pillow set, pillow).
- $336 funds a single bed (includes mattress, mattress protector and bedding pack).
- $688 funds bunks beds (includes mattresses, mattress protectors and bedding packs).
*Besides the mother and two children mentioned above, other families on Variety's waiting list for beds and bedding this winter include:
- A household of 10 living in a cold three-bedroom home. They sleep on mattresses on the floor or bed share. The children are suffering ongoing strep throat problems and taking lots of days off school.
- Children living in a damp, three-bedroom home sharing mattresses on the floor. The children are regularly in hospital with respiratory concerns.
- A family of two generations of children, being looked after by a grandmother. They live in a small retirement home, with the grandchildren sleeping on the lounge couch.
- A mother of five children, including a baby, who sleep on mattresses on the floor.