The Camas Lions Club — known for its charitable work — has kickstarted a new project to provide beds to homeless children.
More Beds for Sleepyheads began a few months ago. The Camas Lions earned a $500 grant for the project through the Northwest Lions Leadership Institute. The Camas members matched the grant with another $500.
The Lions then partnered with Family Promise of Clark County to provide beds to families in the nonprofit’s program. So far, the Lions have purchased two beds for a family.
“We’ve had one instance of supporting a family coming out of homelessness and getting them beds for their new housing,” said Brian Scott, Camas Lions member. “We’re just waiting for another family … and we have $500 for them.”
The Camas group is part of the nonprofit Lions Clubs International, which has more than 1 million members.
The Camas Lions chapter recently celebrated 85 years and has completed projects including tree-planting, volunteering at a food bank and helping build affordable housing with Evergreen Habitat for Humanity.
“We are a group of service minded people … who want to give back to the community, make the world a better place — make our community a better place,” club President Stephanie O’Dell said. “And we do that by doing service projects that serve people in need.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, children experiencing homelessness are more likely to have delayed development and have mental health issues because of unstable housing.
More than 1,700 children experienced homelessness with their families in 2022, according to Council for the Homeless data.
“When one of the members came back from delivering the furniture, he could not stop talking about how good it made him feel and what a tremendous impact it was,” Scott said. “At the time we started this, it seemed like a very small thing but when you get to see a mom and her young child receive a bed and the look in their eye — it’s incredible.”
