22/01/2022
Just one of many referrals this week: Mum and THREE children living in a RAT and COCKROACH infested ONE BEDROOM flat above a takeaway for FOUR YEARS.
A little boy with a heart condition and a mum, who the school describe as having a heart of gold, this week finally received keys to a new house but was unable to take the beds from the previous flat due to the infestations. When school offered Zarachās support, mum said, āplease only give us mattresses and Iāll save up for the framesā. School put in their referral that she became very emotional when they confirmed we could supply both.
Last year I applied to the charity commission to change Zarachās constitutional charitable objective from the jurisdiction of āLeedsā to āUKā. It was (quite rightly) rejected. They said we didnāt have the structures or means to be able to tackle bed poverty UK wide. On reflection I realised this was true. After lots of back and forth, they let us change it to āLeeds and surrounding areasā with the promise I could reapply should our circumstances change. It was through this discussion that I realised that Zarach alone was not the answer. We needed radical change at central government level if we were ever to make a positive change against bed poverty.
Three things Iāve held onto since I started Zarach.
1. Bed poverty is everywhere.
2. Bed poverty is directly damaging hundreds of thousands of childrenās only opportunity to break the poverty cycle: their right to an education.
3. If enough people hear about the prevalence of bed poverty in the UK, we can join together to make sure those in power acknowledge it and are forced to take action.
In November a short piece we filmed with
BBC Look North was picked up by the BBC website and social media channels. It was the most viewed video that week with over 4 million views and then it was picked up by BBC Breakfast. Since then weāve been interviewed by Jeremy Vine, Radio 5, weāve been in the Daily Mail and thereās been a brilliant piece in The Guardian. Everyone Iāve met and spoke to in this time says the same thing. āIāve never heard of bed poverty.ā Or āI didnāt realise there were children without beds in this countryā.
It feels like this is our shot to be heard. Writing this post and getting it right feels monumental. Maybe thatās why itās taken 2 weeks and 7 drafts. At the end of this post thereās a link to our government petition. In 2021 A National Food Strategy investigated the food system and made recommendations to parliament to improve health outcomes linked to food. As a nation, we need the same for sleep. We need central government acknowledgement that the current system is broken and that transformational policy change is required to address child bed poverty and the thousands of tired children sat in UK classrooms it leaves in its wake.
Since the November BBC piece, our inbox has been full of emails from schools in every corner of the UK asking for our support to set up a Zarach where they live or work.
Weāre a charity set up to fight child bed poverty. If a school find out a child doesnāt have a bed, they refer to us and we deliver a brand new bed bundle and offer further support to help the family towards financial independence. We wish we didnāt have to exist. If our government address some of the causes of bed poverty directly, we believe we wouldnāt have to keep treating the symptoms.
To hit 10k signatures, weāll need all our followers (and your nanās best mateās hairdresserš) to get involved as itās currently at a grand total of 59. It takes 2 minutes to sign and even less time to share. If youād like some more info or support in order to share with colleagues by email or partner with us on this campaign through your own platforms/website etc please email [email protected], weād love to hear from you.
Maybe Iām naive, maybe Iām underestimating the magnitude of support out there: but what if Iām not. What if together we can put bed poverty on the national stage and galvanise meaningful change? I suppose only time will tell.
Meanwhile, next week youāll find me teaching Year Six in a school that has shown me so much support for this Zarach madness that Iāve been blown away. Parents turning up with new bedding and pyjamas to donate EVERYDAY Staff volunteering time and funds to support what we do. Incredible.
For every child Iāve met sleeping without a bed over the past four years and for every teacher out there who has patched up the affects of bed poverty in the classroom the best they could. This is for you.
Much love,
Bex
ā¤ļøšš
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/604509
Zarach.org
