This week, we’d like to help four children who are currently living in an unfurnished house. The children are aged from 3 to 8 and live with their mum, Sadie, who is a single parent with mobility problems.

They were all made homeless 2 years ago after Sadie’s parents died (they had been helping her to cover the rent, and after they died she struggled to afford it). Her and the children have been moved between one-bedroom temporary accommodation and hotels ever since. In one property they were placed in, they arrived home to find someone in their living room with a knife. At another, they had a rat infestation and no washing machine, cooker or fridge.

It has had a big impact on the children’s wellbeing. Between them, there have been a lot of stomach problems, headaches, some difficulty speaking and the older children also started wetting themselves. Sadie finds it difficult to stand and uses a walking stick or her child’s buggy to prop herself up. She is also having treatment for depression and anxiety.

They now have permanent accommodation, but it is almost bare. Sadie has managed to borrow beds for two of the children but the rest of them sleep on the floor.

This is a family very much in need of kindness. We'd like to provide some furniture for their home, some toys for the younger children and some instruments for the older children, who are very musical and would love to develop this further. Their health visitor said the children would also really benefit from being able to go to some holiday clubs during the school holidays to keep them active and to give Sadie a rest.