Stacy Crawford, a single mother of three, had reached her breaking point emotionally when she hastily dialed the St. Louis Crisis Nursery’s 24-hour crisis helpline.
“I was scared and overwhelmed,” Crawford said.
It was March 2009. She and her son’s father were having co-parenting issues, and she was unable to work due to health problems. And she was searching for a stable place where she and her family could call home.
“It’s bad enough to not have anywhere to go on your own, but when you have children it makes it that much more difficult,” she said.
With one phone call, Crawford received crisis counseling and resource referrals. She even enrolled her children in the Crisis Nursery’s S.O.S. (Stopping Overwhelming Stress) for Kids program.
S.O.S. provides 24-hour care – including health and wellness care – by trained staff and volunteers for children, age birth through 12, whose families are facing a crisis situation. Parents admit their children on a voluntary basis and receive services free of charge.
Crawford’s children (she prefers not to name them) stayed at Crisis Nursery for two weeks. She had never been separated from her children before and was initially wary about leaving them in the care of strangers. She was soon reassured that her children were in a safe and nurturing environment.
“I would call up there, and they didn’t want to come to the phone,” she said of her children. “I heard them in the background, playing and having fun.”
According to Crisis Nursery’s 2012 Annual Impact Report, 6,134 parents called the agency for help during a crisis that year; 57 percent admitted their child to care; and 43 percent resolved the crisis through counseling and referrals.
DiAnne L. Mueller, CEO of Crisis Nursery, said many families the agency serves do not have anyone they can turn to in their times of need.
“Many families we work with have been cut off from their family origin. They don’t know their neighbors; they’re not connected to a religious community. And they really are just alone,” Mueller said.
“We’re dealing with loving, kind, compassionate, caring parents who just happen to live in extreme poverty and don’t have the resources they need.”
Crisis Nursery’s mission is to prevent child abuse and neglect. Child abuse and neglect transcend all socioeconomic boundaries, but the primary risk factors are poverty, low educational attainment, and inability to endure stress, Mueller said. Crisis Nursery has purposely expanded into high-risk communities, she said.
Mueller, also a mother of three, is driven by her love and belief that all children deserve to have a safe and happy childhood. She has served Crisis Nursery since 1994. Under her direction, the agency has grown from two locations to five Crisis Nursery facilities and seven outreach centers and a regional administrative office, for a total of 13 locations.
Crawford said she may have taken a different road had she not received services from Crisis Nursery. She is finishing her associate’s degree in nursing at the William J. Harrison Education Center, part of St. Louis Community College, and is working toward becoming a first-time homebuyer. She remains a staunch advocate of the agency and continues to be involved by serving on the Crisis Nursery Parent Advisory Board.
“I don’t think I would be where I’m at now,” she said. “And right now, I’m in a good place.”
If you or someone you know is facing a crisis, call the Crisis Nursery’s 24-hour helpline at 314-768-3201 or visit www.crisisnurserykids.org