The family advocacy center will provide on-site laundry machines, showers and a full kitchen for moms and families to use while their infants are receiving care at Brigid’s Path.
Additional educational opportunities like cooking or finance classes will be offered, and an on-site visitation center will be available for program graduates.
After being operational for more than two years and serving more than 70 families, the Brigid’s Path team realized some adjustments were needed to their existing building.
“We are always looking for ways to improve our work with families, and as we’ve grown, it became obvious we needed more usable space for the parents and families who are here caring for their babies,” said Jill Kingston, executive director, Brigid’s Path. “We’ve outgrown the family bathroom and kitchenette originally intended for family use. By remodeling our current space, we’ll make it more effective and provide our families with a more home-like environment as they bond with their babies.”
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Kim Kleinhans, family advocate, Brigid’s Path, said the new center also will expand office space for family advocates and the case management team.
“We work with our families for as long as they want a relationship with us, even after their babies have completed our program,” she said. “This new space will help us better connect with our current and alumni families and help foster a sense of community. For many of our families, having an ongoing support system is critical to success.”
Funding for the $340,000 project was made possible by grants from The Dayton Foundation and The Virginia W. Kettering Foundation. Brigid’s Path is working to secure additional funding for furniture, appliances and staffing in the new center.
The Brigid’s Path team plans to have initial renovations complete this spring and hopes to have the center fully operational later this year.
In November of 2019, the Ohio Department of Medicaid released the first installment of a $3 million state budget allocation to Brigid’s Path.
The allocation from the current state operating budget was one of the priorities set by Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration to better serve “multi-system youth,” including children and youth involved in multiple public systems, such as Medicaid and Child Welfare.
ODM Director Maureen Corcoran said Brigid’s Path has made great strides in helping families and babies.
“No mother should have to choose between getting treatment for herself or her baby,” Corcoran said.
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