#LetsMakeASEEN: Jeremiah’s Place

Child care is a common concern for most Pittsburghers. When the sitter cancels or when day care is closed, who do people turn to? If you’re lucky, you turn to extended family. But what do you do if that’s not possible?

Jeremiah’s Place has been open only since April, but it has already changed lives.

It’s in the Kingsley Center in Larimer and provides no-cost, 24-hour, emergency child care for children ages 6 and under.

“Our very first call was a woman who was going on a job interview. She had been working three part-time jobs and had already canceled her interview once due to lack of child care,” said executive director LouAnn Ross. “Because she was able to bring her children to us, she has a full-time job which has changed the trajectory of her life, and consequently her children’s.”

One abused mother called needing child care after fleeing in the middle of the night. Another needed someone to watch her children because she had to report to prison and her mother couldn’t take them until later that day. A mother called the crisis center when she went into labor, having nowhere for her children to stay while at the hospital.

“No matter what situation our families are in, we provide a safe, clean, loving space for their children, free of judgment — a place of dignity,” added Ms. Ross. “I grew up with my extended family just down the street, but times have changed, and a lot of people don’t have that kind of support.”