WOODVILLE, Texas — It's hard to imagine, but there are hundreds of children here in Southeast Texas who don't have a warm bed to sleep in.
For 6-year-old Angel Lacey, sleeping on the floor is a thing of the past, thanks to Sleep In Heavenly Peace.
“I'm happy I get a new bed,” Lacey said.
It affects their school work and home life, but one organization called Sleep in Heavenly Peace is working to change this.
“3 percent of the entire population of the United States represents children who don't have beds,” said Brian Smith, Sleep in Heavenly Peace Woodville co-founder.
"No kid sleeps on the floor" is a promise local founders Brian and Deborah Smith live by as they saw and assemble beds for Southeast Texas children. It’s been a mission since the national organization's establishment in 2012.
“And it has just expanded since then,” Brian Smith said.
It has expanded to 255 chapters nationwide, including 19 in Texas including Beaumont and Woodville.
“When I saw a news report on SHP Beaumont chapter, so that piqued my interest Brian and I went to the Beaumont build several times to get the hang of it, and then I made an application online at headquarters to sign up to be a chapter,” Deborah Smith said.
The couple founded the Woodville chapter in September of 2020 which serves Jasper and Tyler counties.
“We have all the tools. All they have to do is walk in with a willing attitude,” Brian Smith said.
It's all volunteer-based with no woodworking experience needed.
Each month, Sleep in Heavenly Peace hosts build days where all beds are built from scratch from the assembly of twin bed frames to a completed mattress with bedding and pillows.
“We come in we pull lumber, cut lumber, sand lumber. We have several different drill stations we have dunking stations,” Brian Smith said.
Each build day ends with 20 hand-made beds, which cost roughly $5,000.
“We have to solicit funds from our communities, from our own local communities where we are. So, we have had a lot of individuals who have sent us money we have several companies,” Brian Smith said.
The Woodville chapter has delivered 171 beds this year that's including one special bed made for.
If you would like to donate bed linens, you can drop them off at Fowler Realty in Woodville, and if you want to volunteer, the next bed build day is in the Lowe’s parking lot in Jasper Saturday, September 11.
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