Sleep in Heavenly Peace Celebrates Milestone
Story by Michael Seguin
Photography by Matthew D’Asti
Think about your safest place. A place where you can take shelter from the outside world. Where you can be your most exposed, you’re most vulnerable. Where you can hide, rest and recharge for the next day’s challenges. Where all the trials and tribulations simply cannot reach you.
If you’re like most of us, then that safe space is your own bed.
It might surprise you to learn just how many of our friends and neighbors do not have their own bed to crawl into at the end of the day. Research shows that approximately 3% of the population of Windsor and Essex County are sleeping in less-than-ideal conditions. Even more tragically, it might surprise you to learn just how many children that statistic encompasses.
Fortunately, this is what Brian Cyncora—the President of the Windsor chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace—is seeking to rectify.
“A bed is not just a piece of furniture,” Brian explains. “A good night’s sleep is essential for a child’s development. It’s not just about providing them with a safe place to call their own, or even a comfortable spot to read a book or do their homework. It’s about giving them the ability to wake up refreshed and ready to handle the challenges of tomorrow.”
The Windsor chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace was first developed during the tumultuous months of 2020. When presented with a small window to visit his ailing father during the lockdown, Brian and his wife Terry took a fateful trip to Winnipeg. While there, they visited with some former colleagues on the police service who were running Sleep in Heavenly Peace’s second Canadian chapter.
“They explained their mission and their cause,” Brian recalls. “I thought it was just remarkable. Then when we returned home, I attended a leadership meeting where I heard the story of the Allen family. They were six local children who’d just lost their parents. All they had was a trash bag full of clothes. They needed everything, including beds.”
Spurred by what he’d learned from his friends in Winnipeg, Brian immediately volunteered his services.
“I called Luke Mickleson, who founded the organization in 2012 after seeing a bedless child in his own community,” Brian explains. “At the time, we didn’t have anything. We didn’t have so much as a tool to our name. Fortunately, the chapter in Michigan was kind enough to donate six beds for our initial efforts. That was what first got us started. But seeing as how we were still under COVID restrictions, Terry and I spent months amassing everything we’d need to start production once the lockdown ended.”
Almost a year later—in July 2021—the Cyncora started building in earnest. They began in their own backyard with a small team of six. Now, they’ve acquired their own workshop and a bustling network of over 45 volunteers. They even run numerous programs, including a high school program within the Windsor Essex Catholic District School Board Construction Academies where children can build beds for children in need.
“These events are a great way to strengthen our community,” Brian states. “While we could just sequester ourselves and keep churning out these beds, that’s not the real mission. Ending childhood bedlessness can only be achieved by engaging our entire community. We need to give everyone a chance to be part of the solution. That’s where our bed-building workshops come in.”
Sleep in Heavenly Peace regularly hosts such events, where anyone and everyone can come to their workshop and learn how to build a bed with their own two hands.
“On any given day, we might get 28 members of a group to come out and put their knuckles to the grindstone,” Brian explains. “We’ve had all kinds of people show up—from firefighters to consulting firms. They’ll come into our assembly-line setting and our team will mentor them on the process. They’ll sand, drill, and put everything together. Then we’ll stain them all and send each into our inventory. Within a couple weeks, they’ll be sent directly to the families in need.”
Even more remarkably, Sleep in Heavenly Peace handles both the screening process and the delivery of these same beds.
“You see firsthand the difference it makes when we arrive with the bed,” Brian states. “Another thing we’ve discovered is that we’re not just helping the children, we’re helping the parents who can’t provide for their kids. You can see it on their faces when we pull up with our trucks. These parents get to feel as though they’re providing for their children. There’s this tremendous sense that we’re uplifting the entire family.”
Each bed kit costs about $450.00. Each handmade bed is accompanied with a bedding package that includes a twin sized mattress, a set of sheets, a comforter and a pillow. Sleep in Heavenly Peace incurs all the costs associated with manufacturing, shipping and installing a bed in a child’s home.
Last year, they hit their one thousandth bed milestone—a tremendous accomplishment both for their small team and the community as a whole. Meaning, that together, Sleep in Heavenly Peace and Windsor has invested $450,000.00 into ending childhood bedlessness.
To celebrate this milestone, on December 22nd, Sleep in Heavenly Peace held an event at the old Windsor Tool & Dye shop on Kildare Road. There, those in attendance were invited to sign the actual 1000th bed frame.
“It was so cool to see the community come out and celebrate with us,” Brian states. “It was incredible watching them rally behind us. That sendoff was so incredible to be a part of.”
Despite these accomplishments, Brian stresses that there is still work to be done.
“We’re so thankful for our community and their efforts,” Brian explains. “We’re so happy we were able to hit this milestone. But there’s still much more to do! We have about a hundred kids waiting for beds in our queue. We’re aiming to build another 150 in the spring, followed by another 100 in the summer. We believe in the impact we’re having. Through better sleep, we’re building better opportunities for child development, helping parents, building future youthful leaders, and building community.”
More information about the Windsor chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace (including upcoming bed-building events this spring!) are available at shpbeds.ca/chapter/on-windsor.
Published in the February/March 2026 Edition.
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