Members of St. Michael’s Church in Racine, Wisconsin, have formed a chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace to provide beds and bedding for children between the ages of 3 and 17.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace, based in Twin Falls, Idaho, had only two chapters in 2017. Since the group was featured on Mike Rowe’s Returning the Favor, it has grown to 99 chapters in 34 states, as of Aug. 6.
The movement uses the tagline “No Kid Sleeps on the Floor in Our Town.”
As part of the startup for St. Michael’s, Debbi Prudhom traveled to Idaho in April for a weekend of training. Since then, the local chapter has raised approximately $10,000 to purchase tools and materials and rent to storage space. To date the chapter has built 47 beds and distributed 14. Each bed costs $150 include a hand-built frame, mattress, pillow, linens, and a blanket or quilt.
Financial support has come from St. Michael’s and St. Matthew’s Church in Kenosha. Prudhom said the chapter plans to build and distribute 140 more beds by Christmas.
Adapted from the Diocese of Milwaukee
Visit the chapter’s support page at Do More 24 Racine.
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
