Apr 9, 2010 6:16 pm US/Central
Nursery Offers Free Kid Care To Parents In Crisis
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Maryville Crisis Nursery in Portage Park offers 24-hour care for young children, free of charge, to parents in need of help.
CBS
Hundreds of Illinois families are getting help during times of crisis from special nurseries across the state. One of them is right here in Chicago, and as CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports, it offers 24-hour care for young children -- free of charge -- to parents in need of help.
Since 2006, about 370 children have spent time at Maryville Crisis Nursery in the Portage Park neighborhood.
Many of them don't know their families are in crisis. And that's the whole idea: a safe, nurturing place for kids while their parents deal with life issues.
The nursery accepts children ages 6 and under, for up to 72 hours at a time. Families can use the nursery for up to 30 days a year.
The nursery's director of program services, Nina Aliprandi, says parents call for a wide variety of reasons.
"Sometimes there's a personal family crisis. Sometimes there are issues of homelessness or domestic violence. Sometimes parents are just very stressed out with the day-to-day obligations of raising a family," Aliprandi said.
That's what happened to Monica Thornton. Her daughter Lacyiah was born prematurely and suffered from colic.
"All she did was just cry and scream, and it was just hard," said Thornton.
She said she was nearing her breaking point, when Lacyiah's pediatrician told her about Maryville Crisis Nursery.
Thornton called them at 10:30 one night, and the next morning dropped Lacyiah off for three days. Thornton says it's scary to think about what might have happened if she hadn't had Maryville Crisis Nursery to turn to.
"I probably would have end up just, not wanting to harm her, but you know, I probably would have got to that point," she said.
Workers at the nursery say Thornton is not alone.
"Parents are under a lot of stress these days. People are in a hundred different directions at any given moment, and sometimes people can just be a minute away from maybe making not the best parenting decision," said Aliprandi.
That's why in addition to the free child care, the nursery offers parenting resources and classes.
Thornton uses them, and encourages other struggling parents to do the same.
"A lot of times, parents get so stressed that they harm their kids, and then DCFS becomes involved," Thornton said. "Before it gets to that point, give them a call."
Illinois actually has six crisis nurseries across the state. They depend solely on donations and grants, and this year, people can donate directly to the "Crisis Nursery Fund" when filing their state taxes. It's the last option on the Illinois "Schedule G" form.
The nursery's 24-hour helpline is (773) 205-3637.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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