“No child sleeps on the floor in our town.”
That’s the motto of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, an organization that provides beds, at no charge, for kids aged three to 17 who are in need.
“Through no fault of their own, roughly four per cent of kids just don’t have their own bed,” said Ernie Block, president of the new Chilliwack chapter.
“When people have lack, and it’s hard for them, it’s humiliating sometimes to admit that you don’t have money to buy a bed for your kid.”
His journey with the organization started two years ago when his cousin in Vernon invited him out to a ‘bed build’ where that local chapter built 20 wooden beds in about five hours.
In November of 2024, Block started the Chilliwack chapter. It’s one of three locations in B.C. including Vernon and Kelowna.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a volunteer-run, Canadian registered non-profit, donation-funded charity. They build North American standard bed frames and there are guidelines they must follow.
“We can’t just simply take somebody else’s bed that they don’t want and recycle it. We have insurance and liability requirements that we need to meet for these frames.”
The beds are built in pieces and assembled later inside the home.
Instead of a commercial stain, they use a rust-coloured one made of vinegar and steel wool.
They let the steel wool sit in the vinegar until it dissolves completely, and then the bed-frame pieces are dipped into the stain.
In one year, they gave away 19 beds. They also provide brand-new mattresses, pillows and bedding as needed for every bed.
The wood and mattresses are bought locally at discounted rates. They also go out and buy brand-new bedding and comforters, plus they have had donations of handmade twin-size quilts.
Shortly after the chapter started up, they were gifted more than $2,500 in power tools from KMS tools.
On a recent spring day, Block and his team of five other builders – Phil Dueck, Dan Wiebe, Ben Penner, Rob Bridge, and Dan Barker – were working at making six beds including a bunkbed inside a workshop on a residential property in Chilliwack.
He knows the men through his church.
“Sleep in Heavenly Peace is not a Christian ministry, but the guys that work here that do this, this is our heart. We serve Jesus and this is how we do it by giving them a bed,” Block said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to serve in some place that’s basically untouched and invisible.”
Penner retired in 2005 and has enjoyed volunteering in various places since then, including most recently Sleep in Heavenly Peace.
“I believe in the projects that are being done. I’m glad to help out,” Penner said.
“There’s going to be lots of young kids that have proper beds to sleep on because of the work that Ernie has organized and we’re helping,” added Wiebe. “It’s a good community project.”
Dueck said he always wanted to be involved with a charity that he felt good about helping, and Sleep in Heavenly Peace is that charity.
Block added that he enjoys the camaraderie around making the beds with his friends, and also the reactions from the kids.
“When they get a bed, some of them have never had a bed, and they’re in shock. They’re so overjoyed. It’s very humbling.”
People can request a bed by going to shpbeds.ca.
On that website, folks can also sign up to volunteer, or make a financial donation.
The best thing to donate is money so the volunteers can buy wood and mattresses at a discounted rate. They do not need donations of wood.