Child Development Center Plans
Summer 2010
We all recognize that childcare is not only a basic need for low-income and working families, it is an urgent need.
This problem is heightened for families requiring childcare for infants and toddlers, as there is an extreme shortage of this type of affordable childcare in the Colorado Springs community. During early discussions leading to the Myron Stratton Consortium formation, currently consisting of the Myron Stratton Home, Partners in Housing, TESSA, and Peak Vista Community Health Services, we were hoping to include Child Nursery Centers, now the Early Connections Learning Centers (ECLC).
Unfortunately, at the time of initial planning, it simply was not financially feasible for ECLC to participate in the project. However, significant funding support for operations from the Community Partnership for Child Development/ Head Start (CPCD), and the incredible generosity of the Myron Stratton Board of Directors to provide a major portion of the capital costs, the project is now reality!
The 2,800 square-foot Child Development Center (CDC) will open in August 2010 in the Logan building here on campus. The CDC will have the capacity to serve eight infants, eight toddlers, and twenty pre-school children, with the ability to provide up to five “drop-in” slots for families visiting any of the agencies on the Myron Stratton Campus.
In addition to the childcare facility, the second floor of the building will be operated by Peak Vista as a medical clinic to meet the ever-expanding demand for refugee services. The third floor will house administrative space for ECLC, allowing them to process applications, track attendance, report outcomes, and assist Partners in Housing, TESSA and Peak Vista client families to access additional affordable childcare resources in the community.
This remarkable project, made possible by the continued generous support of the Myron Stratton Home, the significant contribution of CPCD , and the addition of the ECLC to the Consortium will greatly enhance our ability to assist homeless families to achieve self-sufficiency. We are also most thankful for major funding support provided by PPUW, the Temple Hoyne Buell, Edmonson, El Pomar, Gates Family Foundations, and Quailstar.
Providing parents with reliable, affordable childcare frees them to find and maintain employment, continue their education, and provide for their families. Along with food, shelter, transportation, and clothing, childcare comprises one of the most critical needs families must meet in order to become stable and healthy. This project will help ease that shortfall, and provide our families with affordable childcare. We at Partners in Housing are sincerely grateful to all those who are helping us meet this crucial need.
