Sleep In Heavenly Peace Umpqua Valley Chapter Opens Their Own Heated Shop

Since their first delivery in May of 2018, the Sleep in Heavenly Peace Umpqua Valley Chapter has built and delivered 727 beds to families across Douglas and a portion of Coos County. The Umpqua Valley Chapter is now opening their own heated shop to help build beds year-round for those in need. “Like many organizations, 2020 was an incredibly challenging year for SHP,” UV SHP Chapter President Jim Wilson said. “We completely shut-down operations during the early phases of the pandemic. In July, we opened our chapter to bed requests and began some bed deliveries. From July through December, we received requests for 163 beds and were able to deliver 77 before the end of 2020. So far for 2021 we have received requests for 38 beds, have been able to deliver 15. On average, we receive requests for 20-30 beds each month. We currently have open requests for 55 beds.” The primary build model since 2018 has been mobile builds, where the chapter packs up their tools and equipment and set it up wherever they can (parking lot). They have had over 1200 volunteers help build beds since 2018. “One other area we weren’t able to service was small groups. Logistically it just was not feasible to set up the build train (load in, setup, teardown), which takes 4-5 hours, to spend an hour or 2 for a small build,” Wilson said. “It pains me greatly to turn away these small groups (youth groups, families, church groups), especially when we need the beds.” This and their inability to build beds from November through March, due to cold and wet conditions was troublesome to the chapter. That is why the new heated shop is a welcome addition as they will be able to build year-round and possibly build more beds. “With all of that in mind, we took a leap of faith and moved into a heated shop where we can build year- round regardless of the weather,” Wilson said. “That will allow us to build beds with all of those groups that we’ve had to turn away. For instance, if we have a family that wants to sponsor a single bunk, we can meet them at the shop and build it. All the while maintaining our ability to have mobile builds as well.” The new shop is 2,400 square feet and located at 304 Quarry Road, Roseburg, OR 97470. “The support we’ve received from this community has been nothing short of incredible,” Wilson said. “Any child between 3-17 years of age can get a bed. We work with single parents, foster families, DHS, ECHO and UCAN. We keep six or eight beds around to help with emergency situations. Under tough economic situations a family’s priorities focus on food, rent, and transportation. At that point purchasing a bed can become a luxury.” The Umpqua Valley chapter is having their open house in the new facility on Thursday from 3p.m. to 7p.m. Their first build in the new shop is on Saturday the 27th from 1p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit. “Everything we do is from donations,” Wilson said. “We have about 250 chapters in the US. All the bed requests are done online, all the beds we build are from money we have raised comes from donations from the community. When we raise enough money, we schedule a build and call on the volunteers to help.” For more information about the organization visit: https://www.shpbeds.org/chapter/or-umpqua-valley