Thousands of kids in Liverpool are sleeping on floors and sofas, on beds shared with family members or on soiled mattresses they can't afford to replace.
One Anfield family with seven children, including four under five years of age, were found sleeping on urine-stained mattresses in a house with missing windows, a door that wouldn't lock and a boiler that hadn't worked in years.
Councillor Gerard Woodhouse of the L6 Community Centre said even "Anfield cemetery was warmer".
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He said: "Because of the job I do, nothing surprises me, but that house sticks in my mind because I've never seen anyone living like that.
"It was appalling."
Cllr Woodhouse added: "You could see the rain coming through the windows, going down the wallpaper."
An estimated 10,000 children in Merseyside didn't have beds of their own to sleep in 2017, according to research from children's charity Buttle UK.
This was after years of skyrocketing poverty amid massive cuts to social welfare and local council funding, including a cut of 63% to Liverpool City Council's budget since 2010.
Claire Donovan of Liverpool-based campaign group End Furniture Poverty expects the number of kids without beds to be even higher and will continue to rise due to inflation, the Universal Credit cuts and higher fuel prices.
The organisation's head of policy, research and campaigns told the ECHO: "You've got families who are absolutely struggling to make ends meet.
"They're struggling to pay their rent, they're struggling to buy food. Look at the explosion in foodbanks.
"If your cooker breaks, your child needs a new bed or the fridge breaks down, you're simply not going to have the money to replace that."
Living in furniture poverty is expensive; If you have no washing machine and you're left forking out hundreds of pounds a year to use a laundrette.
Unhealthy and expensive microwave meals and takeaways fill the gap if people don't have a working cooker or fridge.
Saving up to replace these costly household essentials means going without food, heat or hygiene.
Claire said: "People can apply to a local welfare scheme to get an essential item, but you're typically only going to get one or two items.
"Obviously, if you've got someone fleeing domestic violence, and we had over 1,000 emails in the last quarter from people across the UK desperate for help fleeing domestic violence, they have nothing. They have nothing at all.
"Where on earth do you start? You've got the grant giving sector, these charities, like Buttle, who do their absolute best, but they simply can't plug that gap on their own."
Cllr Woodhouse said it's "terrible" and "upsetting" when he has to turn people away.
The L6 Centre simply doesn't have the budget or storage space to help every family or individual who come to them for assistance.
Even when they can offer support, like to that family living in "appalling" conditions in Anfield, what they can provide is limited.
Cllr Woodhouse told the ECHO: "All that we could do was, with our volunteers, we carpeted the two bedrooms and got wardrobes and beds.
"But we couldn't do the rest of the house. I mean, we haven't got an open bank book."
The mum was "over the moon" nonetheless, and the kids were able to attend school with fewer problems.
One of the sons falling asleep in class was what first alerted the school to the family's living situation, leading to a referral for the L6 Centre.
Poor bedding and a bad night's sleep has a knock-on effect on kids' education, which affects their life chances and their ability to climb out of poverty.
Claire said: "It has a huge impact on your mental health, your financial wellbeing, your physical wellbeing.
"We know if a child hasn't eaten properly, or hasn't had a decent night's sleep because they haven't got a bed, they're going to struggle much more in school, they're going to then be potentially disruptive in class.
"It really is a significant problem.
"And it's difficult because obviously, we've got food poverty, we've got fuel poverty, now we've got furniture poverty. At the end of the day it's about poverty.
"It's about people not having enough money to live on to achieve the basic standard of living."
A new mattress to sleep on makes a massive difference to daily life, but it's a huge cost to incur alone.
The L6 Centre gave out 41 single beds, three double beds, four sets of bunk beds and 19 cots to families in need last year.
FRC Group, the organisation behind both End Furniture Poverty and the well-known Bulky Bob's, works with partners in the region collect, repair and donate second-hand furniture for free or at low prices.
The group has also developed a mattress-cleaning machine so they can make second-hand mattresses fit for reuse.
Claire said: "Please don't feel ashamed if you're struggling.
"It is hard, furniture is expensive, and it's getting more and more expensive.
"There is help out there. Have a look on our website, speak to your local council, have a look at the grant giving charities, go to your local Citizens Advice.
"A lot of the grant giving charities need a support worker to make the application for you, but your local Citizens Advice should be able to do that for you.
"Or if they're not sure, we've got a guide to tell them what to do and how to register to make grant applications.
"There is help out there. Sadly, it's very difficult to navigate and it can take time, but don't give up."
