Sleep Country Helps Canada's Homeless With $1.5 Million in Product Donation

Mattress retailer Sleep Country is donating $1.5 million worth of products across Canada to help contribute to safe housing for homeless families and individuals during the coronavirus pandemic.

The company, which will supply as needed by each provnicial community, gave its first batch of 100 beds, including mattresses, bed frames, sheets and pillows to City of Toronto’s Rapid Housing Access Initiativ to help move seniors and other vulnerable people out of the shelters and into permanent "rent-geared-to-income" living quarters with Community Housing.

"We have decided to focus our COVID-19 Giving Initiative on helping these groups as we feel they can most benefit from the items offered as part of our donation. Our goal is to work with homeless shelters, community living programs and other organizations that are under severe strain to limit overcrowding and implement physical distancing to fight in the spread of the COVID-19 virus," Sleep Country said in a statement.

"Additionally, we want to help hospitals and care facilities establish temporary rest and sleeping arrangements for frontline medical personnel working extended hours or needing to practice social distancing to keep them and their families safe."

Sleep Country first donation is part of the city of Toronto's Rapid Housing Access Initiative, to urgently find safe and affordable housing for people in homeless shelters, especially seniors, who at immediate risk from COVID-19 infection. 

On its website, the City said it aims to create 100 new spaces for at-risk Torontonians by the end of the month as part of the Rapid Housing Initiative. Each new housing space will be fully furnished via support from Furniture Bank, a charity to which Torontonians donate their "gently-used" furniture for re-use.

"This donation will help to move families and individuals out of shelters and into permanent community housing, and provide them with a safe and secure place to rest each night.," Sleep Country said in a statement.

Toronto currently has around 72 shelter or respite sites housing nearly 7,000 people every night who might otherwise without a roof over their heads. The coronavirus spread has made establishing social distancing measures, and expediting vulnerable people to Toronto Community Housing facilities to ensure health and safety for people in shelter sites a priority.