Urgent need for childcare in our community
As senior citizens living in Northampton, we are well aware of the resources available to our cohort, especially the multi-faceted senior center on Conz Street and the adjacent senior housing. Could not the resources provided by the community for our oldest citizens help to mitigate the lack of resources for our youngest?
Mayor Gina Louise Sciarra’s letter on the projected closing of the Fort Hill childcare center mentions meeting the urgent need for childcare with possible partnerships of childcare providers with other community organizations. The new schedule from Smith College President Sarah Willie-LeBreton allows for time to explore such possibilities. We hope that a proposed partnership with senior citizen resources is in the discussion. Childcare space in the senior center, for example, would not only provide safe places for children of working parents; it would also provide life enhancement for seniors.
During the emergency of COVID, medical personnel were located in the senior center to administer COVID vaccinations. The dearth of childcare in our community is also an emergency. We hope the same flexibility and creativity will meet it.
Julie Anderson, Candace Barret Birk, Joan Cooney, Anabel Link, Elizabeth Rumelt
Northampton