PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — Imagine putting your child to sleep on the floor because there's no bed. That's the reality for thousands of families in metro Detroit.
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This holiday season, the Furniture Bank of Metro Detroit is trying to help change that through their "1,000 Beds Challenge" — and they're asking for community support.
Climbing into bed is something many of us take for granted, but Diane Charles, CEO of Furniture Bank of Metro Detroit, says tens of thousands of children in the area will fall asleep tonight without a bed.
"I think that a bed is not a luxury, it's an essential item for a child," Charles said. "They'll sleep with a family member, they'll sleep on the sofa, they'll sleep on the floor."
For more than six decades, the nonprofit has been providing gently used furniture to families in need. This holiday season, they're hoping to do even more.
"What we're doing is the 1,000 beds challenge, and we're asking everyone, whether you're in a church group, a school group, maybe a department in a company, to adopt the challenge," Charles said.
Charles says even a small donation will go a long way.
"And for $250, we can buy a brand new mattress, foundation, pillow, and bedding for a child," Charles said.
Children like sisters Jasmine and Na'ila Hightower recently received help from the organization. Their mother, Antoinette Hightower, says the girls had been sleeping on the floor for two months. Before that, the family was homeless.
"It's like when you get out of a hardship and you move into a house as a mom, especially a single mom, the first thing you want to do is make sure they have beds, and when you can't do that, it's kind of like aw man," Hightower said.
She knew they needed beds, but she just couldn't get them on her own. That's where the Furniture Bank stepped in, delivering brand new bed sets for both Jasmine and Na'ila.
"I don't know why I like it, I'm just grateful," 7-year-old Na'ila said.
"After they got their beds and stuff, I was like, alright, my kids are comfortable now, I can focus on doing what I have to do. I don't have to worry about them being in any further hardship, so then it made it easier for me to go and get the energy to get a job," Hightower said. "It gave me hope."
And that hope is exactly what the Furniture Bank of Metro Detroit is trying to provide.
"We hear about food insecurity all the time, but we don't talk about bed poverty, and there are 20,000 kids that aren't getting that basic need met, and we can change that, I mean, it doesn't take much," Charles said.
For more information on how to donate to the 1,000 Beds Challenge, or how to receive a bed for your child, visit furniture-bank.org.
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