Angels’ Place: A Hand Up for the Young and Vulnerable

When we celebrated Mother’s Day last Sunday, it meant many things—probably as many as there were mothers and children to observe the occasion. But for some young mothers it wasn't a “Hallmark” occasion but a single bright glimmer in what otherwise can be a hard existence.

Whether because of poor choices, circumstances of birth or simple bad luck, many young mothers this weekend have just themselves, a child or two, and very little else.

In , these women and their little ones can catch a break and a whole lot of support and assistance toward a better future at Angels’ Place.

Angels' Place, a homegrown Pittsburgh nonprofit, has centers in Brookline, Swissvale and the North Side. It serves single parents who are full-time students, living at or below poverty level, by providing free child care, counseling and comprehensive employment-readiness support.

Focusing on the Swissvale center, it’s located at 2538 Woodstock Ave. in what once was St. Barnabas Elementary School. The building, adjacent to the church but purchased by Angels’ Place from the Catholic diocese, is a big part of this story because of its age and operating expense.

Originally called “Mom’s House,” Angels’ Place was established in 1984. The Swissvale center, its second location, opened in 1989.

On a typical day, young parents bring their children to the center early in the morning, then leave to spend their day at school—wherever that might be, depending on their educational plans. Some go to high school, others to community colleges, and some to career schools.

The children enjoy two nutritious meals and a top-flight curriculum of pre-school. A small but significant feature of the day has the children all seated together for meals, family-style, passing plates and socializing.

After school, the parents return for their children and interaction with the professional staff. Then it’s back home for a meal, homework and bedtime, getting ready to do it all again the next day.

For those of us who takes cars and family support for granted, this can be a long, lonely grind including hours of bus travel.

I’ve written “women” and “mothers” here, but there are a handful of single fathers being served by Angels’ Place, too, and the participants represent most racial and ethnic groups.

Both the parents and the children are clients of Angels’ Place. The parents are treated as adults (even if they’re not, chronologically) and it’s their job to finish their schooling and to provide a safe, stable home life for the little ones. The children receive comprehensive, expert early education and other services, as needed.

Professionals at the center are uncommonly well-prepared, and all three Angels' Place sites are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the gold standard for such organizations.

The young parents’ educational progress is closely monitored and supported, as needed, and they are required to participate in parenting classes and other activities to help run the facility.

Specific services provided are:

• Early childhood education and development—developmentally appropriate curricula combined with opportunities for creative self-expression and active play, to improve school readiness.
• Childcare—safe, flexible childcare provided by qualified, caring professionals in a structured, stimulating setting with a complete nutrition program Monday through Friday, year-round.
• Individual support and educational counseling—stimulating support groups, one-on-one counseling, referrals and opportunities to foster the parent’s growth, self-development and family stability.
• Career planning and job placement—mentoring, self-assessment and field experience enable parents to make informed choices about academic plans and career opportunities and to gain a greater understanding of the job market.
• Parenting development—programs on parenting, nutrition, health, safety, finances, legal rights and other life skills help parents with family development.
• Practical needs—food, clothing, baby furniture, equipment and other basics are available for families in need.

Operating on the premise of “first-things-first,” Angels’ Place recognizes that however and wherever the young parents began their journey, the best chance for them and their children, going forward, is to complete a solid education and become employable. Sometimes that means something as basic as completing 10th grade.

It’s all free, but it needs to be steady and concentrated because eligibility ends once the children are ready for kindergarten, however far the parent has progressed educationally.

Why should you care? Because it’s a unique service that builds a stronger, better-functioning community—two generations at a time. In an ideal world, such a service would be provided by government or the school system. But it’s not.

Publicly funded programs of this sort could get all jumbled up in thorny, contentious questions of morality, permissiveness, abuse and neglect, birth control, lifestyle and what have you.

But Angels’ Place cuts straight to the bottom line—the children already are here. The only real question is how their lives and talents can best be optimized to end a self-perpetuating cycle of lost opportunity.

Yet despite the seriousness of the work being done there, there’s an irrepressible cheerfulness and optimism about the place. Daylight floods the classrooms and brilliant primary colors erupt at every angle from furniture, student artwork, toys and decor.

About that building: for the good work to continue at the Swissvale Angels’ Place, the “place” itself needs improvement. It’s perfectly safe, clean and functional, but woefully inefficient and costly to operate at the level of comfort and quiet needed to complete the center’s mission. Money spent—and much of it wasted—on heating and cooling utilities, is money not available to provide the actual services that benefit parent and child participants.

The building is 8,400 square feet on two floors and was built in the 1950s when environmental considerations and energy costs were not of great concern. The large original single-pane windows let in lots of glorious sunlight but they also leak out warmth in winter and admit heat in the summer.

There is no central HVAC system, so noisy, inefficient window air-conditioners are used. Noise is another factor. Heavily traveled Woodstock and South Braddock avenues are adjacent to Angels’ Place and the East Busway is directly behind the building. Deficient windows and structural insulation do little to keep out external noise.

Educators know that little kids especially are bothered by extremes of heat, cold and noise. They can’t do their best when distracted by environmental factors. Then, too, the hustling, modestly paid staff members deserve a comfortable environment to do their best work.

So for those with a little time or money, or both, Angels’ Place could use some angels of its own to help operate, fund and improve the facility.

Feel like an angel? Spread your wings and do something about it. See www.angelsplacepgh.org.