MILWAUKEE — In moments of crisis, La Causa Crisis Nursery and Respite Center is there to support the youngest members of a family.
"Parents will call us when there's different crisis situations or trauma situations or things are going wrong in the family or stressful things and parents just need a break. Parents can call us up and we'll watch the kids for up to three days," said Nursery Director Karl Schoendorf. "I think if parents can reduce stress for whatever reason, I think the chance of bad things happening to kids or bad decisions being made really go down and that's the whole purpose of the program."
The shelter can house up to 12 babies and kids at a time up to age 12. Donations from TMJ4's Community Baby Shower not only helps supply the center but it also allows La Causa to send home needed supply to families.
"We go through diapers and wipes and bottles and bobos and pacifiers and all that stuff. We like to make the place comfortable so when kids come in it seems like a home or a nice home setting. It's kind of a day care setting, but at least it's comfortable and kids have a good time," said Schoendorf.
Robyn's Nest, part of the Children's Wisconsin network, is also there for families in crisis. Community Resource Specialist Lona Long Velasco said she's seen the need grow since she took over Robyn's Nest in 2015.
Robyn's Nest was originally designed to meet the needs of kids in the foster care system. It has expanded to help domestic violence survivors and families with other crisis incidents like like a house fire or medical issue.
"Once the basic needs are met, hopefully the families are able to tackle the greater challenges that they are facing," Long Velasco said.
She added that it's wonderful to see how everyone comes together to support the youngest members of the community.
"They're new and precious into this world and it's just beautiful that our community wraps around our new babies and provides in this way. It's so wonderful!"
You can donate basic baby items to any WaterStone Bank through the end of January. You can also make a monetary donation by clicking here.
All donations go directly to five local organizations including La Causa and Robyn's Nest.
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