Town of Windermere returns with Sleep in Heavenly Peace Bunk Bed Build

The town of Windermere returned this month with more than 150 volunteers for its third Sleep in Heavenly Peace Bunk Bed Build to ensure all children have a safe, comfortable place to lay their heads at night. 

The event, sponsored by the Windermere Wine and Dine and the Windermere Police Department Foundation Inc. with lunch donated by Ellie Lou’s Brews & BBQ, aimed to help give back to the community by building bunk beds for families in need. 

The Sleep in Heavenly Peace nonprofit has grown steadily since its inception, and the organization is working on opening more chapters in different states to serve a larger community. 

ORLANDO WEST CHAPTER

Bill Carleton, president of SHP Orlando West, said the organization has partnered with the town of Windermere for two years, in 2019 and 2020, but slowed its efforts after the pandemic. 

Each time, the volunteers have worked to build 40 to 50 beds from scratch.

The local chapter built the first beds in October 2018 and have now completed more than 1,300 beds while still working to serve a waiting list with more than 100 people. 

The organization has delivered beds in nearby areas such as Gotha, Winter Garden and Ocoee.

“It never gets old,” Carleton said. “It’s what keeps us going — seeing what a huge difference it makes in the kids’ lives. We enjoy engaging the community; it’s people helping people.”

Carleton said the WPD Foundation loves to serve the community and interact with its people. He said the foundation has invited law enforcement members from nearby communities such as Ocoee, Winter Garden, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and more. 

Windermere Police Chief David Ogden said the event serves as an excellent opportunity for law enforcement, because it builds camaraderie, fellowship and serves as a chance for officers to engage with the community. 

He encourages officers to wear something other than their uniform so they can serve those in need in a different capacity. 

“It’s great that we get police officers out next to our local residents … just doing something good,” Ogden said. “Something that has a bigger purpose than just ourselves. Every single day, we answer calls for service in a multitude of arenas. I tell police officers they inherently learn all this information on the job. You get to truly help someone in a place where you may have been seen in a negative light but now you get looked at in a positive light. It is such a replenishment to our spiritual batteries.”

After making contact with individuals in need, SHP volunteers will meet at the local warehouse on Ivey Lane and load trucks for deliveries. 

The team will go into homes and assemble the beds — complete with mattresses, pillows and blankets.

Sometimes, when the kids are older, the nonprofit will even allow them to help assemble the beds.

Ogden has found it is helpful to bring an extra few materials when he enters into the homes. 

He said he brings 9V batteries, because 70% of the homes he visits have fire alarms going off due to the batteries needing to be replaced. Because the batteries are expensive, the extra gesture goes a long way.

“Bill (Carleton) has been a great leader in the community, and I feel so blessed to be even a small part of this mission,” Ogden said. 

LOCAL IMPACT

Windermere resident Shelly Ogden, a retired deputy sheriff who used to work with child-abuse cases, said you truly never know what is happening in the house next to you. 

She remembers one call she responded to with a family all sleeping in the living room. The family had a sectional-type sofa, with the mother, father and oldest child on three separate pieces. The other two younger children slept on an inflatable mattress on the floor.

When the family woke in the morning, one of the children, a baby younger than 1 year old, was unresponsive. Sometime throughout the night the air mattress had deflated just enough that the baby, who was sleeping on his stomach, suffocated. 

“It was a very difficult situation … but this just shows how important something as simple as a bed is,” she said. “Building the beds is amazing, but the delivery part is the part that really just tugs at your heart. Growing up …we’ve been in some tough spots in my life, but never did I not have a bed. So you don’t think about how important that is until you have an incident like what I saw or seeing the pure joy on a child’s face delivering a bed when you would think you had just delivered him a PlayStation or something. You almost feel what they feel. It’s amazing.”

Angie Black, case manager at Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida, said she has been using SHP to help families in need for about three years now. 

Often, when the coalition houses families, they leave with nothing to their name, Black said. Although the organization has other referrals to get furniture, the process can take weeks while with SHP she can go online easily, and they usually receive beds within a week.

“It feels really good to house a family, but it’s also a really disappointing or sad feeling when you think about them moving into a place with literally nothing,” she said. “If the kids have somewhere to sleep, it’s one less thing for the parents to worry about.”

Local resident Kristi Rolle received two beds in September. She had relocated to the area from the Bahamas but had been evicted. One of her brothers died, and she took on the responsibility for his four kids, ages 6, 8, 12 and 18. 

She shared SHP was an amazing turnaround for their family. 

“We didn’t have any furniture, but they came by and set up bunk beds with new mattresses, bedding, spreads and pillows,” she said. “The kids were so thankful, and we just feel so blessed to have received that. They were so happy and we appreciate them so much.”

Local Ericko Graham, mom of seven, said she was connected with SHP through Sara Meyer at Eight Waves. 

“The bunk beds really helped me and my kids,” Graham said. “They came so quickly and put bunk beds together in my front yard when I was in need. My daughter loved her themed Mickey Mouse covers. It’s good knowing your kids have a safe place to sleep.”