Jardin de los Niños services for homeless families

Working toward reuniting the family, establishing a better life

by Annette Paananjen 

Although born in the US and thus a citizen, "Felicia" was raised in Mexico by her parents. She and her husband moved to Las Cruces with their children in hopes of finding a better life. Felicia was working as a house cleaner while her husband worked in construction. Neither job offered any benefits but, still, with both parents working the family was earning enough to get by.

This all changed, however, when Felicia's husband was deported. The children were able to stay with her but, since they were undocumented, the family was ineligible for any kind of government assistance. Her job didn't pay enough to cover housing and the family ended up being homeless, spending their nights in shelters.

Eventually, Felicia found out about Jardin de los Niños through a relative. At Jardin, the children were admitted into daycare and evaluated for therapeutic services. They were checked for both gross and fine motor skills, and tested for language and speech development. An individualized curriculum was developed for each child to boost their skills and they also received a medical evaluation. Felicia took advantage of Jardin's parenting classes.

Jardin also found a place for the family to live, and a donor stepped forward to supplement Felicia's salary. Meanwhile, Felicia managed to get a better-paying job with the help of Jardin and later qualified for a stipend from Americorps to pay for college. As a result of the three years that Felicia and her family were helped by Jardin, she was able to purchase both a mobile home and a car, and pay them off. Her children are now in a public school, and paperwork is in process for her husband and children to become US citizens. The family soon will be reunited, and both parents will be productive taxpayers, something that may not have happened without the timely help of services offered by Jardin.

Jardin de los Niños provides therapeutic children's services in an early-learning, family-centered childcare setting, and school preparation for children ages six weeks to ten years who are homeless or near homeless. For parents and caregivers, Jardin offers comprehensive family services including parenting education programs, parenting group sessions, mentoring opportunities, on-site medical care and life-skills training. The organization also acts as a resource and information referral center, helping families find community resources that enable them to work, pursue training, or finish school.

For more information about Jardin de los Niños, go to www.jardinlc.org or call 575.522.2111.