Windsor couple builds beds for kids and discovers immediate need after 6 children orphaned

A Windsor couple's decision to found the local chapter of a charity that makes beds for children without was quickly called into need this fall after six kids were left orphaned last month.

"There's a real need, there's a community need," said Brian Cyncora, who recently opened a Windsor Chapter of the Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) charity. 

Brian and his wife Terry recently applied to start a chapter in Windsor. The charity, which was started in 2012 in the U.S. has Canadian Chapters in Edmonton and Winnipeg — where the couple lived and worked for 30 years.

It's motto is "No kid sleeps on the floor in our town." The Cyncora's applied to start the chapter this August after speaking with their friend who started the Winnipeg chapter.

"From my discussions with them it was like 'Wow, that's pretty cool. It's something we'd like to get back in to,'" Cyncora said.

Their decision was given a clear purpose shortly after signing up to open the chapter as a family with six children between the ages of three and 17 lost their parents suddenly in September. 

The mother was the daughter of a prayer leader at the New Life Fellowship church in Windsor. Shortly after their death the church put out a call for help for the children. 

A family stepped up to take care of the kids and a house was given to the family by their great-grandfather but there was another request made by the church: two bunk beds for the younger kids, and two beds for an older boy and girl.

"I was like: 'Oh my goodness, here's what we're supposed to be doing. Let's get on it,'" Cyncora said.

Having just applied to be part of the charity, he wasn't able to make the beds but he found six emblazoned with the SHP logo in Wayne County, Mich.

He said they managed to import the beds with the help of a friend who is an essential worker in transportation and is able to cross the border. 

The beds are now in the Cyncoras' garage waiting for the house to be ready for the kids to move into at the end of October.

In need of beds

The charity estimates two to three per cent of children in any community don't have a bed to sleep on.

"If you look at Windsor-Essex County, we're looking at 95,000 kids, two per cent of that, we're somewhere around 1,900 children that are sleeping on the floor, so there's a real statistical need that says we can help," Cyncora said.

Bishop Paul Riley of New Life Fellowship Church said it's an issue he encountered when he ran a youth centre in downtown Windsor for five years. 

"Kids that we would have in there — my eyes were open to realize most of them are sharing a bed or sleeping on the floor," Riley said.

The beds that are given to those in need by Sleep in Heavenly Peace are all made from new materials, both the frame and mattress.

"Everything is designed so it's a clean, fresh start for the kids," Cyncora said.  

For now, the Cyncoras are using their garage to store and work on the beds they've secured for the kids, but they are looking to grow the charity. They're looking for the donation of a space between 1,400 and 1,800 square feet to assemble and store the beds they plan to build. They're also looking for cash and volunteers to help them get the job done.