04 | Restoring Families: By Jessica Smith, Hannah House Supervisor
Lack of Childcare is a Huge Hurdle When it Comes to Reunification—But Hannah House Has a Plan to Help
Learning how to parent after a life of addiction can be terrifying. When moving into the Hannah house, a new resident will have a plethora of things that they need to check off their to-do list. From getting a job to applying for an ID, the list goes on and on. Working with CPS and trying to reunify with their child can add a large amount of extra things and anxieties to that list.
One of the huge stressors we’ve found is finding adequate child care for their children before they can be fully reunited with them.
In the Billings community, it is incredibly challenging to find childcare. Usually, for the women living here, it has to be accessible within walking distance because many do not have licenses and/or cars, which makes it even more challenging. Even after finding a daycare close enough, most then have waiting lists that can sometimes take months to reach the top.
This is why Hannah House plans to integrate an in-home childcare facility into the basement of the new campus addition planned for 2025. By offering onsite childcare, the women will automatically, upon qualifying to live at the Hannah House, have a spot for their child in the daycare. That means one less worry they will have in regards to getting their child back in the home with them.
They also will not have any worries about commuting their child to daycare. It will be all-encompassing care for the children and their mothers. It will also give us the opportunity to share the love of Jesus with these precious kids.
While we interact with the Hannah House women on a daily basis, our connections with their children are usually limited to Thursday night dinners. An on-site daycare would completely change that—allowing our team to have a more personal and interactive relationship with
the children.
I would also like to add that God has been writing my story at the Hannah House from the moment I moved into the house in 2016.
While living in the house, I worked as the Childwatch Coordinator at the Billings Family YMCA. I know now that my time at the Y will only help me in my ability to effectively run the daycare facility and love these children where they are. As I reflect back, I now see how He was building me up in my recovery.
While I was living at the Hannah House, God used this time to refine, stretch, and strengthen me, ultimately preparing me to be the Hannah House Director. I have always said my two callings in life are women in recovery and children. God has clearly been working that out in my life for years. I am grateful.
