Baby beds project helps more than 1,000 children

A project set up to ensure young children are able to sleep safely in their early years has helped 1,000 babies and toddlers in its first five months.

The Baby Basics charity in Sheffield was given a share of £2.2m by South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard to tackle "bed poverty" in families.

The money funded the Beds for Babies scheme, which provides cots, beds, baskets and bedding to those in need.

Cat Ross, CEO of Baby Basics in the UK, said the project meant that parents did not "fall through the net" and could be connected to other support services.

Baby Basics was founded in Sheffield in 2009 and the "baby bank" now has centres in Doncaster and Leeds.

The Beds for Babies launch in June was the first scheme of its kind.

Families are referred through a midwife, health visitor, GP, family worker, social worker, children's centre, or charities, Ms Ross said.

Beds are delivered without the charity's volunteers meeting the family directly, enabling them to access additional support.

"It's a much more cost-efficient way than giving families a voucher to go out and buy a bed," she said.

The first bed funded through Beds for Babies was delivered in June to Mary in Sheffield, the mother of an 11-week-old, who said it "gave her confidence as a mum".

"It takes away the worry of ‘how am I going to have a cot for my child and where am I going to get it from?’.

"You can use that energy on something else."

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority said the region had some of the worst health inequalities in the UK.

Coppard said: "We have started to raise the living conditions of nearly a thousand children and babies across South Yorkshire in just a matter of months.

"Bed poverty and health inequality are two of the biggest challenges facing South Yorkshire; a child born here will have a shorter life than a child born in the south of England.

"Through Beds for Babies, we are building the foundation for a better future for South Yorkshire children so they are given the same start in life and opportunities to become the best they can be."

Ms Ross said every item donated to Baby Basics has a "real impact" and appealed for donations ahead of Christmas.

"Anything from a bottle of shampoo for a mum, a blanket for a newborn, a brand-new toy, or passing on your own baby’s bed that you no longer need."

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