'Sleep in Heavenly Peace' builds beds for Pinellas children without one

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. (FOX 13) - Sleep is important for everyone, including children as they grow up. Unfortunately, some kids don’t have a bed to call their own. 

Jim Baker formed the Pinellas County chapter for the national organization, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, to solve that problem.

“I was sitting in front of a TV. I was having a crisis of faith,” he told FOX 13. “I was thinking ‘Why me? Why am I so blessed?’ Sometimes, you wonder why you were put on the face of the Earth.”

Jim, his wife, and another couple build beds for those in need. The beds are made out of pine lumber, which they purchase locally. Everything else is new too, including the mattresses and bedding. They said each bed costs about $150 by the time they are completed.

“I was actually surprised at how many kids locally that didn’t have beds,” Jim said. “If you talk to teachers, talk to guidance counselors, talk to DCF, you find out there are thousands of kids that are sleeping on the floor basically.”

The chapter launched in the middle of 2018. Jim said they assembled and delivered more than 100 beds to kids who didn’t have one. There are up to 40 volunteers and each one is trained from sanding to drilling.

“I found why I was put on the face of this Earth,” Jim said. “No kid sleeps on the floor in our town. That’s our mission.”