Addressing the need for childcare in Porter County is the goal of Geminus Head Start's new Early Learning Academy. Geminus cut the ribbon Thursday on the new, 15,246-square foot facility on U.S. 6 in South Haven. It will serve 75 preschool children and another 21 infants and toddlers. It will also host a prenatal program for 10 expectant parents.
"This is our only footprint in Porter County, and when you look at Porter County and we look at the most eligible children and families for our program, they reside here in Portage Township," said Dr. Karen Carradine, vice president of the division of early childhood services at Geminus.
Geminus used to host programs in local school buildings. The new dedicated space is entirely federally-funded with more than $5 million from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Office of Head Start.
Carradine said she initially requested funding for a four-room schoolhouse in 2018, but expanded the request twice, as the need became apparent. "So where we probably could've stopped with a very shortsighted dream, we decided to go big or go home," Carradine explained.
A lack of child care options has been a barrier to residents in the South Haven area. Brandy Jania, the deputy director of Geminus Head Start, gave the example of one mother referred by a local business.
"She couldn't get employment because she couldn't find childcare. Guess where her little's going, and guess who just got a job," Jania said to cheers from the audience. "So that's the work that we do, and that's thy why we do the work that we do."
Portage Township Trustee Brendan Clancy said South Haven has a sizeable population, but it's often been overlooked, since it's unincorporated. However, he said there's been an uptick in investment recently, with the Boys and Girls Club and South Haven Public Library also making upgrades.
"The amount of money and the amount of investment put into this community has been absolutely amazing," Clancy said. "We all say it — you can always, always, always invest in a community, but the most important thing you could do is invest in your children."
Clancy remembered his own experience attending Walt Disney Magnet School in Chicago. "I think the most important thing that you learn at a facility like this and especially at that age is learning about other cultures and colors, religions, ethnicities, personalities, at such an early age that it just becomes second nature to you, and it's something that you're going to carry for the rest of your life," Clancy added.
The Porter County Early Learning Academy opened for children in the Early Head Start program Thursday, with the Head Start program for preschool children to start soon.
