I am completely flabbergasted at the way this city sets its priorities. Our early childhood care is at a minimum, and there are numerous families that are struggling to balance work and child care in a town that has almost no options for our children.
I am one of many mothers searching for early childhood care and have run into the same problem over and over again for five years: two-year waiting lists and outrageous monthly fees that are too far out of reach for a low-income family.
I make too much money for assistance from the state to pay for child care, I don’t make nearly enough to afford the private child care offered, and now one of our only options for care for our children is closing because there aren’t enough children enrolled.
Are you kidding me?
Does any one know or even care about how many families need affordable child care? What in the world is this town doing?
Two years ago, the tri-county Head Start stopped providing full-day child care. That was a mistake in its own. Families in this town need help with our children. Families in this town need someone to tell them where to go, and who will help. I have contacted every early childhood program I can in Durango and none of them have room. Why in the world would you close the only option we have as a community?
The people of this town wonder why so many parents are taking their children to work, and why so many families are choosing not to work and live off of welfare.
Well, what options do we have when all our options are being taken away from us?
All we need is someone, anyone, to care about our children and their education – and guess what, it starts when they are babies; the most important time of a child’s learning happens before they even get to kindergarten.
I can’t believe you, Durango. I have been trying for five years to bring light to this crisis. We even lost a baby in our community because there is nowhere to take our children while we work to provide for our families. No one cares about that though, do they?
Alika-Jade Miller
Durango
