No Kid Sleeps in the Floor in Our Town: Meet Sleep in Heavenly Peace

At Rocket City Mom, we’re always excited to spotlight organizations that are creating positive change in our community. This time, we turned to Sleep in Heavenly Peace to learn more about their mission and the meaningful impact they’re making.

What is Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) all about? What’s the big mission that drives your work?

Sleep in Heavenly Peace builds and delivers beds for kids age 3-17 who are sleeping on the floor, on couches or air mattresses, with mom, or in other less-than desirable situations. Every kid gets a new wooden twin bed, new mattress, new age-appropriate bedding, and new pillow, free of charge.

Let’s talk impact! What are some of the biggest ways SHP has made a difference in the community? Any stories that stand out?

Since our first bed delivery two years ago, the Huntsville SHP chapter has delivered over 1,900 beds to area kids! We will reach 2,000 beds in the next few weeks. That means that almost 2,000 area kiddos are off the floor now, thanks to SHP. We often get texts the day after a bed delivery from thankful moms who say that their kids overslept because they were resting so well in their own new beds.

Who do you serve, and what’s something people might not realize about the needs in our community?

We serve area kids aged 3-17 who don’t have a bed of their own while giving peace of mind to their parents or grandparents who have applied for beds for the kids. Child bedlessness is a hidden problem. Unless you go into a child’s bedroom, you don’t know that he or she doesn’t have a bed. Even in a community like Huntsville that has been named the best place to live, there is great need. Many times, when SHP delivery teams go into a home to deliver beds for the kids, those beds are the only furniture in the home.

What is the most rewarding part of your work at SHP?

There is nothing like hearing the squeals and seeing the joy on the face of a child who has just been given a bed of his or her own. SHP also attracts the most generous and hard-working volunteers, so working together on this mission is rewarding on so many fronts.

For anyone reading this and thinking, “Wow, I want to be a part of this!”—what’s the best way to get involved?

Check out the website SHPbeds.org to pre-register for the community bed builds. Get on the volunteer text list for upcoming bed builds and deliveries by texting or calling chapter president Mary Ena Heath at 256-337-0510. Donate to the AL-Huntsville Chapter online at SHPbeds.org/donate or send checks and twin bedding orders to

SHP
300 Pelham Ave. A4
Box 272
Huntsville AL 35801