Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Church partners to build 39 beds

NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANDY SHUPE Volunteers Dalton Maloch (left) and Addison Sexton wash finished bed frames Aug. 4 at First Baptist Church in Rogers. Nearly 70 volunteers built 39 beds in three hours to be delivered to children in need through the new local chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANDY SHUPE Volunteers Dalton Maloch (left) and Addison Sexton wash finished bed frames Aug. 4 at First Baptist Church in Rogers. Nearly 70 volunteers built 39 beds in three hours to be delivered to children in need through the new local chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

"No kid sleeps on the floor in our town."

That's the motto of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, which gathers volunteers to build beds and bunk beds for families in need. A local chapter opened recently in Bentonville.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

721-5335, chris.brust@shpbeds…

Members of First Baptist Church in Rogers joined Sleep in Heavenly Peace on Aug. 4 to build 39 beds.

The group delivered 11 beds to homes last week. The other 28 will go toward filling the other 60 requests, said Chris Brust, chapter president.

Beds will be given to families most in need until all beds are delivered, he said.

"I'm relatively new to the area," Brust said. "I didn't know much about Northwest Arkansas. When I started researching and talking with people from other nonprofits, they told me we'd be swamped. Nobody ever thought about providing beds."

Peace at Home in Fayetteville might partner in the future to provide beds for its clients, said Eva Terry, development director of the family shelter.

"We are a domestic violence shelter," Terry said. "So a lot of people are fleeing violent homes. And a lot of times when they flee, they are not able to take many things with them."

Terry noted that, when clients finish the program, the shelter sets them up in homes, "with all the stuff you need for a house" -- beds included.

Children need to have their own space, Terry said. "Having their own bed can make it feel more like home, more like it's yours. Like it's not so temporary."

Foster parents adding children to their families also frequently request beds, Brust said.

"These are regular people just needing help," he said.

First Baptist supplied all the materials and most of the labor to build the wood-frame beds -- which they completed in three hours. The church also supplied sheets, pillows and comforters. "The beds were fully equipped to sleep in," Brust said.

"The bunk beds cost $350 each, that's $175 a bed, $7,000 for 20 beds," Brust said, noting the organization is always looking for support and partners.

NAN Religion on 08/11/2018

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