12 days, keeping families afloat
Ark care center helps stressed parents through the rough spots
As appeared in the Evansville Courier & Press By Karen Owen-Phelps
Kathy Morreira thought her child-rearing days were over. Her two daughters and the niece she raised all were grown.
Then the 43-year-old Evansville woman suddenly became responsible for an 18-month-old grandson.
"Overnight your whole life changes," Morreira said this week as she picked up little Nathan Johnson at the Ark Crisis Child Care Center.
The nonprofit agency at 415 Lincoln Ave. has been a lifesaver for her during the last month, Morreira said.
"I'm just thankful for this place. (Without Ark's help), I don't even know what I would have done," she said.
Ark was started in 1981 by the Junior League of Evansville to prevent child abuse and neglect. The name comes from "Noah's ark and a safe haven," said Nancy Gump, the program's executive director.
Twenty-one percent of Vanderburgh County children have been neglected or abused, compared with 12 percent nationally, she said. The only known common denominator in all those cases is high stress, Gump said.
Short-term help
Ark helps by providing free, short-term care to get families through a crisis or a gap in baby sitters. Two weeks is the longest most children stay, Gump said.
"When the economy is bad, demand for our services increases," she said.
The program is open to all income levels, however.
Some parents who use Ark are looking for a job or new living quarters, returning to school, dealing with legal problems, going to counseling or living in a shelter, Gump said.
Teen mothers trying to finish high school or earn a GED are a growing part of her clientele. Some parents who come in just need a break from the pressures of child rearing, she said.
The center is the only one of its kind in the state and one of only 11 in the country. It is licensed for up to 33 children ages 6 weeks through 6 years, but averages 21 kids a day.
"We average 475 to 500 children walking through our doors each month," Gump said. "Our expertise is loving on that child.
"In eight hours you bring smiles. You work day to day and you hope."
Ark also offers parenting classes and a lending library of children's books.
The agency has 7.5 employees and a $274,000 budget. Ark is a United Way agency, but 75 percent of its budget comes from the community, including foundations, civic groups and corporations.
Morreira turned to Ark because she didn't want her grandson to go into foster care. She works full time at a local orthotics business. Her car also broke down about the same time Nathan moved in.
But she's determined to help her grandson while his mother works through her problems.
"For some reason, I know this was meant to happen," Morreira said. "I'm just going to play out my role in it."
Help needed
Morreira and Ark are part of the 12 Days of Caring, which is sponsored by the Courier & Press to allow readers to help individuals and nonprofit groups in need during the holidays.
Morreira is reluctant to ask for anything, though. Nathan "doesn't even really know it's Christmas," she said. "There are people in more need."
Still, diapers would be helpful, she conceded. He wears a size 4. A neighbor who dropped by Ark to bring Morreira the toddler's car seat adds that Nathan likes cars, trucks and anything that makes noise.
"A true boy," Morreira described him.
She does like the idea of newspaper readers helping Ark.
Ark needs money more than anything, Gump says. The center goes through about 40 gallons of milk a month, plus diapers, food and utilities — in all about $650 a month.
The center also needs a high-efficiency washer and dryer, a new building sign, a child care center-sized baby crib, and gift cards to Schnucks, Wal-Mart and Office Depot.
Ark also could use a variety of art supplies, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, copier paper, digital cameras and more.
