This is an opinion column

“No kid sleeps on the floor in our town.” That’s the slogan of a national program with a local chapter that gives needy children a bed to sleep in and a mattress, comforter and pillow to put on it. Some of these children have spent their young lives sleeping on the couch or in a crowded bed with a relative, or even on a blanket on a wooden floor.

But volunteers all over the country aim to change that. Sleep in Heavenly Peace—SHP— was started in Idaho in 2018 and founded by Luke Mickelson. He and a group of friends built a bed for a child in their community who didn’t have one. They had leftover lumber, so they built another, and then another. The organization grew and even expanded to Canada, where the group built a bed for a mother who had left an abusive relationship and had no household goods or furniture, until SHP provided her with what she needed.

SHP calls itself a national organization that answers the call to a national problem. They believe that a child’s health and sense of security can be improved by having his own bed to sleep in during the growing up years.

Huntsville SHP Chapter president, Mary Ena Heath got involved when a friend in north Alabama told her about it and arranged training for volunteers. They got busy in a donated wearhouse where a dozen or so stations have been set up. Don’t have lumber sawing skills? Try sanding or staining or even sorting bolts and washers. There’s something for every skill level, Heath says.

“No experience, no worries.” The building team can find a place for everyone.

Local businesses like Lowe’s and as well as civic and charity organizations donate money and supplies, like colorful “bed in a bag” kits and lumber that comes in planks and is built into sturdy bunk beds.

Each bed is branded with the SHP logo to remind the family that this bed was hand-built by people who wanted their children to have something of their own.

Why do people need a bed? These are some of the reasons the local chapter members have heard: The family had to move out of a furnished apartment due to rat infestation; the landlord sold the building; someone lost a job and had to move in with relatives. Simple, stark poverty plays a role, too. When a child grows too big to sleep with a sibling and the bed gets crowded, she needs her own sleeping place, but there may not be room in the already tight budget for a bed.

An organization like SHP relies on volunteers, and they come from churches, like Heath’s own First United Methodist in downtown Huntsville; the Madison County Bar Association; civic groups; college basketball teams and their coaches; university fraternities, and people who hear about the program and want to help get a child off the floor and into a comfortable bed because it’s the right thing to do.

Since November of last year, 165 beds have been delivered to families in the Huntsville-Madison County area who have gone online to request them, filled out the paperwork, and waited for the bunk or single bed that gives a child—age 3-17-a place of his own to sleep, lounge, do homework, or relax.

Sometimes a child helps the SHP delivery team put her bed together, following the directions of the team leader and feeling a part of things. Then she climbs into a bed that’s for her and her alone.

Families can request a bed by going to shpbeds.org. Volunteers who want to get involved can contact the Chapter President by calling Mary Ena Heath at 256-337-0510 or sending an email to [email protected].

Beth Thames can be reached at [email protected]