Two Toledo organizations are teaming up to remove one of the biggest obstacles a mother in recovery can face: finding care for her children while she gets treatment. Mom’s House of Toledo and Harbor announced a new pilot program called UPSTREAM on Friday, pairing Harbor’s recovery treatment with the childcare, education and parenting support Mom’s House has built its mission around.
The announcement, made by the two organizations in a joint release distributed through EIN Presswire, launches the pilot at Laurie’s Place, 22 N. Westwood Ave. in Toledo, where leaders from both organizations gathered Friday morning to unveil it. Five spots are available in the pilot for moms and their children, according to the announcement.
Mom’s House of Toledo is a nonprofit childcare provider that supports the educational efforts of low-income single mothers, according to the announcement. Its own mission statement says it works to break cycles of poverty by empowering at-risk single parents to reach their educational goals and equipping them with the tools to become effective caregivers — an approach it describes as positively impacting two generations at once.
Harbor is one of Ohio’s leading providers of mental health and substance use disorder treatment. According to the announcement, the not-for-profit agency has served its community for more than 100 years, serves more than 30,000 youth, adults, seniors and families each year, and provides mental health, telehealth, vocational, primary care and substance use treatment services. It is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and certified by the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health, the announcement said.
The idea behind UPSTREAM, the organizations said in the announcement, is to reach mothers and their young children earlier — at a pivotal point in their journey — rather than waiting for challenges to grow. The collaboration addresses data showing that child care is a significant barrier to sustained recovery for mothers: treatment appointments, counseling and residential programs are hard to keep when there is no one to watch a toddler.
“Mom’s House helps transform that vision into a pathway forward,” Christina Rodriguez, executive director of Mom’s House, said in the organizations’ announcement. “Through UPSTREAM, mothers in treatment can explore their educational, vocational, parenting and personal goals while connecting with the resources and support they need to make those goals attainable. It’s about creating greater possibilities for mothers and their children.”
Alexandria Thomas, Harbor’s vice president of development and engagement, described the partnership in the announcement through Harbor’s “Rooted in Recovery” approach. “Recovery creates roots from which women can begin to envision what is possible for their lives,” Thomas said in the announcement. “By surrounding mothers and their children with the right support at the right time, we can help change what happens next.”
Friday’s launch event at Laurie’s Place featured Harbor CEO Dustin Watkins, Rodriguez, Mom’s House Program Director Julie Haas and Nicole Shurelds, Harbor’s director of women’s residential rehab, according to the announcement, and local elected officials and community leaders also attended. Mom’s House also operates a second Toledo location on Franklin Avenue, according to the organization’s website.
The pilot’s design reflects the two missions meeting in the middle. A mother working with Harbor on her recovery can, through UPSTREAM, explore educational, vocational, parenting and personal goals at Mom’s House while connecting with resources and support, the announcement said — the childcare that makes treatment possible, and the education support that gives recovery somewhere to go.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What we know: Mom’s House and Harbor announced UPSTREAM on Friday, the pilot opens with five spots for moms and their children at Laurie’s Place in Toledo, and it combines Harbor treatment with Mom’s House childcare and goal support. What we’re still waiting on: the announcement did not state enrollment dates, funding amounts or detailed eligibility rules, and it did not say when or whether the pilot will expand beyond its first five spots — those details will come from the organizations as the pilot gets underway.
What happens next is the pilot itself: five Toledo mothers and their children get a recovery path that does not ask them to choose between treatment and their kids. For two organizations that have each spent years on one half of that problem, UPSTREAM is the attempt to solve both halves at the same time — and its first five families are where the proof will come from.