Windsor's Sleep in Heavenly Peace celebrates new partnership and expanded footprint

A team of volunteers from the Windsor chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace are back in the Rose City after a bed-building event in Quebec City earlier this week.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) is an international and locally registered not-for-profit organization that aims to end child bedlessness and ensure that no child sleeps on the floor.

"It's an epidemic. It's a real problem and there's a need to satisfy getting kids up off the floor," stated Windsor president and founder, Brian Cyncora.

"Sleeping in a bed, it's not a luxury. It's a necessity. And when you don't have a bed, then you're not prepared for the challenges of tomorrow. And when kids get a bed, they feel safe."

SHP's 9 Canadian chapters have built and delivered 2700 beds (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

Cyncora said the group travelled to Quebec City after a recent collaboration with the local Knights of Columbus, to demonstrate their bed-making abilities during the annual Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention.

"Their executive, their leaders there. There were Cardinals building headboards. It was incredible. And then, you know, we had four days to build 200 headboards. It took us two and a quarter days to build the headboards because of the excitement."

Officials said SHP Windsor was the closest chapter in Canada with the capacity to support SHP's plans to introduce SHP efforts more broadly to the Knights of Columbus.

"It makes me very proud," exclaimed Reg Campbell, the grand knight of Council 5350 in Harrow and district deputy for District 15 in northwestern Ontario. "Proud to be a Knight of Columbus and proud to be involved with this organization, knowing that we're helping children to have a place to sleep."

Campbell asserted that the Knights of Columbus would continue to volunteer with SHP and assemble more beds and headboards later this month.

"This is our first [venture] into this operation, and I think that every man and person that participated, we were overwhelmed by the work that got done... and this charity and the work that it does, fantastic."

SHP's 9 Canadian chapters have built and delivered 2,700 beds. However, SHP Windsor is currently the only chapter in Ontario.

Cyncora said SHP engages the community to be part of the solution through their participation at bed building events to hand craft twin beds and twin bunk beds that will be donated to needy children without beds of their own.

He said there is optimism following the Knights of Columbus convention that Windsor's SHP chapter will expand their footprint into other communities in Ontario, Canada and worldwide.

"Each bed we value at $450. That's the sheets, pillow, comforter, the wood and the delivery because nothing gets charged to them. All of our volunteers, they provide their own gas and we rely on the philanthropic kindness of the community to support us and it's been remarkable the support we're receiving."

Each of the beds the group produces is valued at $450 (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

According to Cyncora, SHP estimates that 3 per cent of youth in the community between the ages of 3 and 17 do not have a bed to sleep on, suggesting there's no time to rest in getting beds made.

"We have over 100 kids on our waitlist right now. We've built 601 beds in 3 years. 601 beds! That's a lot for us. We've delivered 569 beds. That's 569 children are up off the floor and sleeping in beds."

He continued, "We're humbled that we're honoured. We're privileged. We're thankful. We're grateful for all the community that's come out to support us because when we see the need, we know it's real. And we know that we're blessed and that we're able to help kids."

You can learn more about Sleep in Heavenly Peace Windsor here.