AMANDA: Hey Thairin!
You ready to go home? Hi! Did you do good today? Did you have fun?
Come on. I know you like playing.
Moving to TLC was one of the best choices
I made actually, we were in a shelter for about a month before we got
in here, and all of the extra support and the
community that we've had here has really helped me to get on my feet
and helped to
give Thairin a really stable place. Knowing he's so comfortable here
really allows me, when he's not with me, to focus on
myself and get that self-care that I need and get the things done
that I need to do. And seeing him flourish in the way he
has since he started interacting with other people, and started
interacting with other kids consistently has just been amazing.
SARAH: At Transitions, a commonality for the women that we serve is they're
coming from homelessness, working minimum-wage jobs. And at
minimum wage,
how do you afford child care, food, and housing? You can't. It's a huge
barrier for moms in our community, and it is unjust.
These kids are coming from backgrounds of domestic violence, insecurity.
We all know children as sponges, they're listening,
they're seeing. So imagine placing that into traumatic situations
where they're listening,
they're seeing, they're learning behaviors, and we can begin to kind of
shift that behavior, and that learning, and they can
absorb positive things, and positive activities.
CASSIE: It's instilling love, and learning,
and trust, and confidence, and boundaries. You know, just
come sit on my lap.
Let me give you a hug.
Let me read a story to you.
SHANNON: It basically sets the stage for the rest of their life. In this
timeframe from toddler to preschool,
if they haven't learned the social skills, and learned to be
proud of themselves,
I wouldn't say it's too late after that, but it's it's going to be
very difficult, and there might be some things that they
just aren't able to do because of that, and that's what we're doing here.
We're giving them the base that they need to be able to have a
positive impact on the community as they get older.
SHELBY: These kids really look forward to their lunches here, and it's just
one part of the child care, but it has a lot of
potential to be something that changes their lives, just because that
could be, you know, their only quality meal for the day.
So just trying to give them the best that they can have, because they deserve it really.
SARAH: Here in Spokane,
the average cost of childcare is about $1,000 a month,
and that's for one child. Here at EduCare, moms start at about $50 a
month for part-time childcare.
Huge difference.
It's amazing that we're able to offer quality, trauma-informed, child
care, and be able to offer it at a super reduced-price.
AMANDA: With being here, 
we were able to save enough money to afford getting into a new place.
We've just got our new apartment, and I've been really proud of what
we've been able to accomplish. And he loves it here so much,
and so I was worried with moving that he wouldn't continue to have
that anymore.
And so I was really happy when we did get approved, and we found a place
that was close enough to make that a possibility for him.
Are you Moving? Yes! Where did you go? We got a lease signed on Tuesday.
I've struggled most of my adult life, and knowing that I'm finally on
more stable footing, and I don't have to worry about
there being a roof over my head, that I've got that taken care of is a
big thing.
I want him to find something that he really loves doing and have the
ability to be able to do that.
And I'd like to see him reach a point where he does not struggle,
at least on the same ways that I did.
It's just meant the world to us to have that extra help and support.
SARAH: I think in the context of Transitions and of EduCare
justice is being given equal opportunity to not only survive but to
thrive. It's also giving respect and representation,
trying to understand what a woman is going through who just got
kicked out of her house with her two kids.
So are we offering that justice to the members of our community who are struggling?
SHELBY: First of all justice for the kids.
They deserve a safe place for them to come that is centered around
their needs, and their interactions, where they enjoy
being. Second of all, parents deserve to trust who they're taking their
kids to because if they're stuck at work worrying
about the state of their children, they're not going to be able to do well
in their jobs, and really make a difference in the community.
CASSIE:  Justice is a huge thing when it comes to the kiddos because
again, that's where it all starts.
We need to start when they're little, start hearing them, start letting
them know they're important, and they have worth, and
investing in them, because they deserve it. What better way to complete
my life, than to help them with theirs?
Sorry.
This is just really important to me because so many times people aren't heard,
they're not seen, and they need to be heard,
they need to be loved, they need to be seen.
SARAH: I love EduCare and I love what it does and how it believes in that
justice of education for all. We'd like to always be
expanding, having more kids, more availability for moms, more teachers,
more programming.
It's totally worth our investment.
It's worth every penny. The consistency, the love, the care.
I mean you can't beat it. EduCare is a special, special place.
