EDITORIAL — Where is the help for working parents?
Published 6:00 am Friday, July 17, 2020
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It’s frustrating that in a community as caring and full of churches and nonprofit efforts as Farmville, seemingly no organizations are working to solve the upcoming child care crisis when children return to school every other week.
Reporter Alexa Massey writes in today’s edition that there is little evidence of any organizations working to expand child care options. It seems working parents are being given the huge problem of coping with half-time schools while trying to work a full-time job without any solutions or options available.
The town is filled with large churches, many with classroom space, yet there has been no effort that we can see for those churches or third parties to expand services and take advantage of those facilities for students who are supposed to return to school part time in just a few weeks.
This is a coming crisis in the making that could cause problems for businesses with working parents and the parents themselves who may have no options for child care this fall and have to choose between working or staying home to care for a child who has suddenly become a part-time or distance-learning student.
There was a lot of effort at the beginning of the pandemic to form coalitions and solve problems. It seems we are over that phase of the pandemic and now it is just every one for themselves.
This is a great opportunity for local churches to help young families and work to solve a community problem, yet there appears to be zero thought given to the issue.
Yes, safety is a concern and it is a difficult time, but we cannot stop helping each other and functioning as a community of people who care for each other.
(The views in this editorial are of The Farmville Herald editorial staff. This editorial was written by Editor Roger Watson. He can be reached at Editor@FarmvilleHerald.com or (434) 808-0622.)