You might glance into one of our conference rooms and see parents taking parenting classes or attending a support group (in English or Spanish). In the art class, you will see mothers and children making beautiful tiles under the gentle guidance of our volunteer teachers. Behind closed doors and “Do Not Disturb” signs, mothers begin to heal from past abuse during therapy sessions, either alone or in parent/child sessions which help them learn how to be better parents for children who have suffered the side effect of diminished mental health because of poverty and homelessness.

As you walk around the building with us, you will hear the hum of voices from offices where counselors are working privately with parents to help resolve the issues that brought them to crisis. Meanwhile, their children play in the supportive nurturing environment that is our childcare center.

When you meet our Wellness Center staff, we will let you know about the alternative services that are in place, such as prenatal yoga, parent and infant massage, as well as four series of eight prenatal classes that we host throughout the year. 234 babies were born during the past year. Of these, 215 (92%) were of normal birthweight, and 231 (99%) were born drug-free. A baby born healthy increases the odds that the family will seize the opportunity to continue on the path toward optimum family health.

We couldn’t do our work without our great staff, our wonderful board, and our friends in the community who support our work. Together, we follow Marian Edelman Wright’s dictum that we must invest in all of our children today, so that we do not pay “a whole lot more later on” in terms of social ills and disadvantaged adults.

Thank you for being a partner of our work.

With warm regards,

Martha Ryan
Founder and Executive Director