“I couldn’t conceive that children didn’t have beds.”
Mary Ena Heath, the Chapter President of Huntsville’s Sleep in Heavenly Peace affiliate, said this harsh reality moved her to make a difference. It started in the Summer of 2022 when Heath saw a social media post from a friend in the Shoals – dozens of people in a parking lot making beds for children with the Shoals chapter of “Sleep in Heavenly Peace”. By October of that year, the Huntsville chapter had been established and the organization delivered the first bed to a family in Madison County. Since 2022, SHP has built and delivered more than one-thousand beds in Madison County for children in need.
At an early age, Heath knew she wanted her work to have meaning. She looked to her parents, who served as role models. Heath became a teacher, just like her mom, and later became an attorney like her dad. Additionally, she volunteered with service organizations and her church. Heath says all of these activities led her to this mission.
Heath says she often hears stories from parents and caregivers about how a bed made such a difference for a child. She recalled one instance when she received a picture of two brothers sound asleep in new bunk beds. “Their mom said the boys slept through their alarm that morning, but that’s okay,” Heath shared.
Heath’s work to ensure children in Madison County have a place to lay their heads is why she is the NCAC and Redstone Federal Credit Union December Superhero.
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