The Gift of a Bed

In 2018, our Community Coordinators addeda question to their regular family visits.Are there sufficient beds in the home?  They quickly realized that many children were sleeping in the same bed as their parents, or if they had their own beds, they were in the same room.

Sharing a bed or a room is a reality for many families whose homes are one bedroom or one large space. When you don't have an option to create multiple rooms due to space or finances, you do the best you can. For many couples, they are living and raising their children the same way they were raised. It is what they know.

Armed with this information, the Family Empowerment team decided to do two things they in order to address this problem. First, they gathered small groups of parents and educated them about the issues that arise because of their sleeping situation and how to create healthy boundaries for their children. The second step was to gift families in need with beds. Josue, Church and Community Development Director, said, "The vision is to provide a space where our children can have their own bed and a space that provides a healthy environment."

In the past three years, the Family Empowerment team has provided over 20 beds to the families in our communities. In many cases, they were able to install a boundary wall in order to create separate rooms for parents and children.

Andrea, a Community Coordinator, recounts the experience of delivering the beds. She saw children with wide smiles jumping on the bed, claiming it for themselves.Our staff works tirelessly to address issues through education, training, equipping, and empowering families. The bed project is a great reminder that a small gift has the potential to have a generational impact.