National nonprofit that builds beds for kids in need opens CNY chapter

By Sarah Hall

Editor

It seems like such a simple comfort: most of us take for granted that at the end of the day, we’ll get to curl up in a bed at night.

But for kids across the country, that’s more of a dream than a reality.

Chris Hussak of Clay didn’t grasp just how many kids didn’t have a bed of their own until he saw Mike Rowe’s “Returning the Favor,” a show on Facebook where Rowe tours the country highlighting people doing good in their communities. In the episode Hussak watched, Rowe was talking to Luke Mickelson, who built bunk beds for kids.

“I didn’t really realize what an issue it is,” Hussak said. “It’s a huge issue and it was an eye opener.”

Mickelson founded his organization, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, in 2012 in Twin Falls, Idaho, after realizing how many kids were sleeping on floors, couches, air mattresses, blankets, in parents’ beds — anywhere but a bed of their own. The nonprofit now has 115 chapters in 39 states — including one in Syracuse.

“I watched it, and I was like, ‘Darn, that’s pretty cool,” said Hussak. “And then I ran it by a group of friends who were also interested in trying to… do something for the local community, especially kids.”

The group, which also included John and Libby Wright of Manlius, watched the episode and agreed: Central New York needed this. And so the Syracuse chapter, the first in New York state, led by Hussak and Jon Wright, was born.

While couches or air mattresses are passable substitutes, Hussak said they just don’t provide the same comfort as a real bed.

“It’s not conducive to a good night’s rest,” he said. “You never know — a child could get a good night’s rest, maybe they do great on the SAT test and that changes their life forever, right? They get into college. It bridges quite a gap.”

SHP volunteers help construct the beds, but Hussak said the group’s main goal is to recruit other volunteers to help.

“We facilitate the community involvement in this,” Hussak said.

The Syracuse chapter of SHP has already held two “builds,” one at the Lowe’s in Clay at the end of September and another in early October at Manlius True Value. They’ve built a total of 16 and a half bunk beds; their goal is to have 40 bunks — each bunk can be split into two beds, so a total of 80 beds — built by Christmas. But it’s not enough to meet the need: all of the beds that have been built are already destined for a specified child, and Jon Wright said the group has received requests for close to 150 more.

“The need is great, not just in the Syracuse area,” Hussak said.” We’re getting requests from folks in Oneida, up in Oswego, down in actually New York City.”

Syracuse’s SHP chapter has designated a 20-mile radius around the city as its service area at this point, though Hussak said they would like to ultimately expand to serve the greater Upstate New York region. He said there is another chapter in Mechanicsville near Albany, and hopefully as word spreads other chapters will form in the state.

“This can really be a catalyst for other cities or towns to be able to start up as well,” he said. “Right here in our backyard, there’s no way we’re going to be able to fill the need that’s right here, but it would be great if we could get enough community involvement to fulfill as many as we can.”

Volunteers also deliver completed beds to those who have been approved to receive one; their first delivery went out Oct. 11 to a family who had lost everything in a house fire.

“You actually got to build something with your hands and then you got to go and deliver it to them,” Hussak said. “The look on the kids’ faces is amazing… Their faces brighten up [because] they’re going to be sleeping in a bed, some of them, for the first time in their lives. It’s pretty neat.”

SHP is looking for donations of twin bedding — sheets, comforters, mattress pads, pillows, etc. — as those are provided with every bed. There is a donation box at the Manlius True Value where bedding can be dropped off.

Jon Wright said SHP is also looking for a place to call their own.

“Our constraint right now is resources and space,” he said. “We would love to identify indoor places we could host builds over the winter — maybe a storefront that’s temporarily vacant or warehouse space, a place we could have for about eight hours on a Saturday or Sunday.”

Any company or group who might be able to meet the need can contact Wright at [email protected] or Hussak at [email protected]. Volunteers are also encouraged to reach out; Hussak promised you won’t regret it.

“It’s a great way to tangibly [help] somebody in need,” Hussak said. “How cool would it be? We could change the lives of an entire generation of kids.”