Freedom House homeless shelter to offer childcare

Green Bay -

A local homeless shelter is starting to offer child care to help its residents get back on their feet,giving families more opportunities for a brighter future.

As a mother of twins and a five-month-old baby, Iesha Dukes is one of many residents at the Freedom House shelter excited about the free in-house child care program.

"I was dragging them around grocery stores, wherever I went," Dukes said, referring to her kids. "I was going to the job center, and I got kicked out."

The lack of affordable child care hurt her job prospects and kept her from going to school, Dukes said.

Crystal Champeau works at the day care. She can relate to Dukes' struggles because she used to live at the shelter, too.

"Going to pick upapplications and I'd get these looks from people, like, 'How are you going to get a job if you can't find somebody to watch your kids?'" Champeau said.

Now that Freedom House is a family daycare, Dukes sees her opportunities expanding.

"I'm going to getback working, get back to school, get a license, and then my own apartment," Dukes said. "And eventually come back and share my story about how I did it."

"It brings light to darkness for some of our families," said Tameika Hughes, Freedom House Child care Administrator. "As a mother myself, it's a beautiful thing to be able to have your children at a safe place."

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Freedom House homeless shelter to offer childcare