Crisis Nursery In Need Of Donations To Support Growing Demand

OKcity Crisis Nursery said their phone rings off the hook day and night from families looking for help with their kids and the demand is only increasing.

No matter the age, Jennifer Roberts said she wants every kid to know OKcity Crisis Nursery is their home away from home.

“We're basically a village for the families that don't have a village. It looks different every day whether we're helping watch them for a few hours, so the mom can go get take a break. We also help a lot of families with medical emergencies, so if they don't have anybody to watch their kids we're here,” Roberts said.

Roberts said she opened the nursery three years ago.

“I just wanted to prevent abuse and neglect. My nephew, his half-brother was murdered by his mom's boyfriend and so that really struck pretty close to home,” Roberts said.

Over the years, Roberts said she's noticed many parents are afraid to ask for help. She wants them to know it's okay to reach out.

“Parents don't wake up one day and say okay I’m going to abuse my child. It happens in the moment whenever they're stressed. So, if you're at your breaking point or you feel yourself getting to that point give us a call,” Roberts said.

Robert said this breaking point usually happens this time of the year. She's noticed calls are up and she helps an average of 100 kids a month.

“Especially with the pandemic, it's just increased even more. People are depressed, they've lost their jobs, they can't afford things they're worried about losing their home and Christmas is coming up it adds a lot,” Roberts said.

They said their emergency fund for the month is completely gone. To help with the demand, they need donations.

“Diapers, wipes, formula all day long we go through a lot of those. We give them as much as we can, it doesn't matter what time of the day we can get them to them,” Roberts said.