Children sleeping on chairs, floors, beanbags and in baths is an all too common occurrence in modern-day Britain according to the children’s charity Zarach, which is calling for a national response to the national issue, starting with a campaign to make Leeds the first bed-poverty-free city in the UK.
Bex Wilson, Zarach's chair and founder, states: "Until the Government put child bed poverty firmly on the agenda, we will continue to have thousands of chronically tired children sitting in our classrooms without an equal chance of achieving an education that will equip them to break the unrelenting cycle of poverty in which they are trapped.
"We’re excited to be partnering with Leeds City Council to launch Bed Poverty Free Leeds. Working with schools, teachers, health visitors, safeguarding teams and the local authority allows us to ensure that every child in Leeds has access to a bed and that all professionals are effectively equipped to spot the signs and symptoms of bed poverty.
"Bed poverty, unlike food or fuel poverty, does have a one-time fix, as a bed brings instant and long-lasting change. As a nation, we need to educate and equip our health and public sector professionals with the systems, knowledge, skills and resources to spot and sort bed poverty in order to improve the current state of sleep in the UK."
