A South Florida woman is on a mission to make sure needy children have a safe and clean place to sleep.
A good night’s sleep is important for a healthy life, but many children only dream about having a decent place to sleep.
Suzanne Broad, Founder of Sweet Dream Makers: “It’s so important that the children have their own special island.”
Suzanne Broad has spent decades volunteering and mentoring. A few years ago she helped a group of teens transition out of foster care. They didn’t have much, not even a bed.
Suzanne Broad: “There was no furniture. There were no beds, and now I’m running around town trying to find beds and a desk and a dresser and dining table for the kids.”
She started hearing about other children who didn’t have beds.
Suzanne Broad: “One woman told me that she took a box spring from the dumpster just so the child wouldn’t be literally on the cold tile floor. So I saw a need for that population very quickly. That was one of the impetuses to start this organization.”
After trying to fill those needs on her own, Suzanne eventually launched her non-profit. She named it Sweet Dream Makers.
It provides beds to those who need them.
Suzanne Broad: We can solve this problem of bedlessness in a minute and it’s one less thing that parents need to worry about.
Sweet Dream Makers partnered with more than 160 social service agencies across South Florida. Those agencies refer families through the non-profit’s website.
Volunteers like Rosalind Gualtieri go over each case and talk to the families.
Rosalind Gualtieri, Volunteer: “That takes a little while to, you know, to get their story and to gain their trust so that they can tell us everything that they need.”
As a former police officer, Rosalind spent years working in low-income neighborhoods. She understands the challenges facing many families.
Rosalind Gualtieri: “The families are afraid of being judged. The kids are afraid to say something. They don’t want to go to school and let their friends know that they sleep on the floor or on a pallet.”
Sweet Dream Makers gives every child a mattress, box spring, and bed frame, plus a few extra surprises.
Suzanne Broad: “So a five-year-old gets a twin bed, and a teenager may get a full bed or an extra-long twin bed and children also get to choose their own bedding, whether it’s a character, a color, or a sports team.”
Every single bed donated is free. Thousands of South Florida children have now been given a safe, clean, and comfortable place to sleep.
Suzanne Broad: “And this past year, we gave away over 7,000 beds and now we are serving maybe 40% in Broward and 45% in Palm Beach and we just started a pilot program last year in Miami-Dade.”
It means more work for Suzanne, but she’s determined to give children a place to dream.
Heather Walker, 7News.
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