A Day In The Life | 10th Annual Bed Race

Organizations rallied together for the 10th Annual Bed Race on Saturday on the track at Santa Fe College at 751 NW South Road hosted by Family Promise of Gainesville.

The purpose of the race was to raise awareness to end childhood homelessness.

Founded in 1998, Family Promise of Gainesville is a nonprofit organization that provides shelter, meals and case management to homeless children and their families in the community.

Since then, the non-profit stated that it has served over 1,100 families.

The non-profit shared that the economic and affordable housing crisis has put an additional burden on working families.

According to Family Promise of Gainesville, while rents have increased by 44%, funding for assistance has decreased by 75%.

There were teams of five and four racers for each team. There were youth groups and adult groups. Youth groups consisted of middle and high schoolers and adult groups were for people who were 18 years old and older.

Members of the non-profit raised money through raffles.

Some of the groups who participated were GRACE Marketplace, Queen of Peace Catholic Community, InfoTech, Bread of the Mighty food bank, Zero Hour Life Center, and more

Teams decorated the bed and participants were encouraged to dress along with the chosen bed theme.

Teams advanced through a series of heats and prizes were awarded to teams for fastest bed, best bed construction and design, best overall theme, people's choice, and the biggest trophy went to the highest fundraising team.

One of the vendors during the event was the Newberry Opioid Task Force.

Tamelia Malcom is the board of directors president of Family Promise of Gainesville.

She has been serving the position for two years and has been on the board for four years.

“Having a home and somewhere to sleep at night should be a fundamental right” Malcom said.

She works in the pediatrics department at the University of Florida at North Central Early Steps and is a case management supervisor.

“Because I see the children from birth, we want to make sure they have a nice, full life,” Malcolm said.

She said having shelter is one of the key components to having a full life.

Malcolm shared that now working families are facing homelessness.

“Due to the rising costs of housing and wages not growing, it creates a dynamic where even workers with full -time jobs can’t make a living, even if you have a child,” Malcolm said.

She said the effects of children not having a home takes a toll on their schoolwork.

“As kids go into school, they can face absenteeism and get distracted,” Malcolm said. “There are stressors in life that children are worried about but they keep it together to not show it in school.”

Malcolm said this year is the first time the non-profit hosted the bed race at Santa Fe College. In previous years, they hosted it at Trinity United Methodist Church.

“It’s amazing to see the efforts people put into creating their beds,” Malcolm said. “It’s deeper than the beds — it showcases what children got to have. I’m glad to see organizations come together for the cause.”

Malcolm said the non-profit uses the First Presbyterian Church at 106 SW Third St. as an office space for homeless families seeking shelter and a space to do laundry.

Their office hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Those who are in the program will be notified about other churches they can lay their head in over the weekends.

Shari Jones is the executive director of Family Promise of Gainesville.

She has worked in the non-profit for eight years and has served her current position for two.

Jones initially studied to become a lawyer. She received her master’s degree in Criminology at Nova Southeastern University and worked in the criminal justice system for seven years.

“After we released inmates, most of them would come back,” Jones said. “That’s when I saw there was an issue in the community, not the jail. That’s why I made the change to become a social worker because I can focus on the causes to prevent them to be in jail and it’s usually poverty.”

Jones said the bed race is symbolic to what the non-profit does because it uses roll-away beds for families each week at different churches for families who need them.

“Working families are finding their way to the homeless system,” Jones said. “They can’t afford the cost of living anymore. We raise funds for people and families who fall in the gap because they don’t qualify for grants due to higher income but they are still struggling.”

Joe Johnson is the Lead GNV program manager of the Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce and said that Jones is one of the members of the program in this year’s cohort.

It is a 10-month program to prepare residents for leadership roles in their businesses and organizations.

“This is what we’re all about,” Johnson said. “We can help spread the word in Gainesville. That’s what we’re here for. This event shows what the community is all about in the Gainesville and Alachua County area. You see people from all cultures having a good time.”

For more information about the non-profit, visit https://www.familypromisegvl.org

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