Around 200 volunteers helped the nonprofit Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) build beds on Saturday for children aged 3-17 in northern Santa Barbara County.
Their goal was to build 125 beds in just five hours.
Rebecca and John Fuhriman live in Lompoc and have volunteered at bed builds for SHP in different areas throughout the Central Coast. They said wherever the builds are, they will follow.
“Anywhere is great if it's going to help out the community in any way," Rebecca Fuhriman said. "Everyone deserves to have a better life.”
The nonprofit is a national organization that works to address what they call an unspoken issue: Bedlessness. Colleen Grant is the Santa Barbara County branch’s co-president. As a preschool teacher for 30 years, Grant said the issue is larger than many may think.
“I had many, many, many students over the years that didn't have a bed, that had a shared bed or that slept on a pile of clothes in the corner," Grant said. "During a rough divorce several years ago, I had a child who had a mattress on the floor of a mobile home.”
The Santa Barbara County Chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace has built more than 3,300 beds for children on the Central Coast since 2022. Supplies for each build are purchased from donations. At Saturday’s build, The Home Depot provided all of the necessary supplies to build the furniture.
Grant said this is the first step of the process. Next is buying new bedding and delivering the beds to children whose parents have signed up on their website.
“When you deliver to these kids, the excitement on their face and how the parents just cry when they're like, 'How much does this cost?' Nothing," Rebecca Fuhriman said.
Different stations are set up during the build. Volunteers can sand down planks, drill pieces together or brand the headboards. Mark Palmerston and his daughter, Madison, said they’ve been volunteering for a little over a year and have already been to three bed building events.
“Ensuring no kid sleeps on the floor in our community is just really an important cause for our children in our community," Palmerston said. "Not just at home, but also to be prepared for school and for everything in life. Having that great bed to sleep in.”
Grant said SHP chose to build in San Luis Obispo to help spread the word about the nonprofit and hopefully encourage community members to start a San Luis Obispo County branch. She said current Census poverty data estimates 6,200 children in San Luis Obispo County are sleeping on floors or couches instead of a bed.
“All it takes is a little bit of time, maybe a little more time, a willing heart and a desire to, to do something positive in your community," Grant said. "It's not just about building beds and getting kids up off the floor. It really is about building the community.”
Grant said the beds will be delivered throughout the next month.
