Tonight in Macon, Warner Robins, and Perry, many children will try to go to sleep on the floor, on piles of clothes, or on makeshift beds of pallets and other materials.

“In today’s world, to think that that is still even a thing blows all of our minds,” said Mark Conner, senior director of a non-profit called Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP), a national organization dedicated to providing beds to children in need.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace is working to change that reality, one bed at a time. Now, Middle Georgia State University (MGA) is helping the organization’s regional chapters analyze data to better understand and document how having a safe place to sleep affects children’s lives.

Representatives of MGA and SHP formalized a partnership on June 15 that will allow the University’s Center for Middle Georgia Studies (CMGS) to study the impact of providing beds to children. The research will give SHP data to help demonstrate the value of its work, strengthen grant applications, and support the organization’s efforts to expand its mission.

“We believe that a child will do better in school, be socially more adept, and be physically healthier if they get a good night’s sleep,” said Brian Cornett, co-president of the Macon chapter of SHP. “Now we’re hoping to have the data to prove it.”

Through the partnership, CMGS will design, develop, and validate survey instruments to measure how receiving beds affects children’s sleep quality, academic performance, behavior, and socioemotional development. SHP will administer surveys when children receive beds and again at three, six, nine and 12 months, providing data that will help researchers better understand the long-term impact of the program.

CMGS will use the findings to develop research publications, conference presentations, and a report documenting the outcomes of the initiative.

“We are extremely grateful for the trust that Sleep in Heavenly Peace has placed in us to do this work,” said Dr. Kristie Roberts-Lewis, CMGS’s executive director. Lack of beds “is not a temporary inconvenience for children. It is a nightly reality that affects how they wake up, how they show up in the classroom, and how they develop over time.”

Roberts-Lewis said the partnership reflects the mission of CMGS to use the expertise of University faculty and staff to address challenges facing the region.

“The Center for Middle Georgia Studies will collect the data and produce evidence from a longitudinal perspective that will tell the full story of how the mission of Sleep in Heavenly Peace is impacting children,” she said.

The Macon chapter of SHP has been around since 2024, and Cornett said volunteers (who stand out due to wearing red t shirts emblazoned with the phrase NO KID SLEEPS ON THE FLOOR IN OUR TOWN) have built and delivered more than 760 beds to local kids whose families applied for help. Another 775 kids are on the waiting list. MGA’s Student Life office has hosted a bed-building event in partnership with SHP, giving students and employees an opportunity to support the organization’s mission.

The work of the Macon chapter is now expanding throughout the region. A Warner Robins resident and retired Coast Guard pilot Larry Cornwell began volunteering with the Macon group and is now helping to build a chapter in his city. Meanwhile, Princess Jackson, founder of a non-profit, is helping organize a chapter in Perry.

The regional expansion is important because the need remains significant. More than 1,000 children are on a waiting list in Warner Robins, while about 300 are waiting in Perry.

“When you deliver a bed, it’s like Christmas for that child,” Cornwell said. “It’s amazing the impact it has, and how happy they are.”

Visit https://shpbeds.org/chapter/ga-macon/ to learn more about and how to support the regional work of Sleep in Heavenly Peace.