How a bed has changed lives

After taking part in the recent CEO Sleepout, our Director Anton Goodwin shared a powerful reflection:

"Of course, we all empathise with how difficult and horrible it must be to sleep out on the streets, but even in the safety of a football stadium for one night in May, we found the cold and concrete more unpleasant than we could have imagined. This experience has completely changed how we view our day centre."

“At our day centre, we’ve always expected clients to come in ready to apply for housing or jobs — but we now realise that without rest, that level of focus is simply out of reach. If you’ve endured night after night of broken sleep in freezing conditions, it’s almost impossible to concentrate, let alone thrive.”

The NHS points out longer stretches of bad sleep do have a negative impact on our physical and mental health or wellbeing.

To help combat this, we recently installed bunk beds in a quiet area on the ground floor — not for overnight stays, as we aren’t open 24/7 — but so that people who use our services could have the rare chance to rest, really rest, during the day. (We do not provide overnight accommodation.)

Just an hour in a clean, quiet bed.

It seems like such a basic thing, but for many of the people we support, it’s a luxury they haven’t experienced in years.

Helen, one of our staff members, explains how the beds have been used.

“They’ve already made a real difference. For example, one client who had been stealing in order to pay for ad-hoc accommodation. Since being able to rest for a few hours each morning, he’s been able to make better decisions — with the energy and clarity to apply for mental health support, contact housing charities, and even start thinking about job options,” she says.

Anton adds: “I never thought a bunk bed could change a life.

“When we added them so clients could rest during the day, I hoped it would bring comfort. I didn’t expect someone to tell me that having a safe place to lie down helped them step back from suicide.

“It stopped me in my tracks.

“This is why I do what I do. Small things matter. And sometimes, they mean everything.”

We know that giving someone the chance to rest, eat, shower, and feel human again helps reduce the chaos in their lives. In that calmer space, they’re open to conversations — even difficult ones — that are leading to real, positive progress.

Thank you to everyone who donated so generously to help make this happen.

Your kindness has provided more than just beds — you’ve given people the dignity and safety to begin again.

In the last 12 months, we helped over 80 people move off the streets and into housing. The charity Crisis UK report found the annual cost of a single person sleeping rough in the UK is estimated at £20,128, whereas a successful intervention such as ours, costs approximately £1,426 per person per year.

This means we saved the taxpayer an estimated £1.5 million!

Thank you everyone for supporting us

If you’d like to support more moments like this, please consider becoming a Friend of The Ark. Just £3.50 a month helps us continue offering vital services and creating sustainable change in people’s lives.

Become a Friend of The Ark here.

Everything we do to support vulnerable people in our community, and help them make positive changes, is because of your generosity.

Like many charities, we have been hit by an increase in staff costs, and with donations down, we are facing urgent funding shortfall to maintain current levels of support.

And please do spread the word - follow us on social media and give us a shout-out: we’re active on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TicToc, and X (formally known as Twitter),