STUART, Fla. — Beds will be rolling down Flagler Avenue in Stuart as Family Promise of Martin County brings its annual Bed Races back to Sailfish Ballpark, turning an unusual competition into a community effort to help families with children facing homelessness.
The free event is scheduled for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sailfish Ballpark, 600 SE Flagler Ave.
Teams turn beds into racing machines, with runners pushing a rider toward the finish line. But behind the costumes, competition and laughs are a serious mission.
Madeleine Bozone Greenwood, executive director of Family Promise of Martin County, said the organization works to prevent and end family homelessness in Martin County.
"We serve parents with children that are here in Martin County," Greenwood said. "We provide shelter, transitional housing. A path to return to home ownership or their own rental housing."
Family homelessness can be difficult to see
Pastor Chad Fair, board chair of Family Promise of Martin County, said homelessness does not always look the way people might expect.
"We kind of think that it hits just those people we see on the street corner, but it's families, it's nurses, it's school teachers, it's people that are integral in our community and do the work with our kids, with our families, and they're experiencing homelessness," Fair said.
Family Promise says its work includes homelessness prevention, shelter and services designed to help families find stable housing while keeping parents and children together.
That work gives the bed races a literal connection to the organization's mission: The race may be entertaining, but the bed represents something every family needs at the end of the day, a safe place to sleep.
Bed races bring the Stuart community together
Paige Cortes, director of operations for Family Promise of Martin County, said spectators can attend Saturday's event for free.
"This Saturday, bed races 10 to 1 at the Sailfish Ballpark," Cortes said. "So we are ready for fun too, and you can join us in the race to end childhood homelessness."
The event combines the spectacle of beds on wheels with the broader goal of connecting Martin County residents with an issue that can sometimes remain largely invisible.
For working families facing a housing crisis, Fair said homelessness can affect people who are already contributing to the community every day.
That gives Saturday's race a purpose beyond deciding which team can push its bed across the finish line fastest. It gives residents an opportunity to learn about family homelessness in Martin County and the organizations working to help families regain stable housing.
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